Mission and Vision Statement
Institute for the Study of Arms & Armorâ„¢ (ISAAâ„¢)
The Institute for the Study of Arms & Armor (ISAA) is committed to the preservation, research, and public education of arms and armor across the entirety of human history. Our goal is to build the largest, most complete, and world-class archival collection, serving researchers, historians, collectors, government entities, and the public, while preserving the heritage of arms and armor across eras and cultures.
​
The Institute will operate under a dual-structure model: a nonprofit entity (ISAA Library™) focused on research, preservation, and public service; and a for-profit entity (ISAA Labs™), organized under a single holding company, ISAA.
​
Our goal is for ISAA Library to become the modern-day "Library of Alexandria" for arms and armor — a global center of knowledge, conservation, and scholarly excellence, and ISAA Labs to become the equivalent of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for the defense sector, setting rigorous, transparent standards of performance and safety.
​
ISAA Labs will serve as a large, independent, and fully equipped testing and certification facility, offering objective, unbiased evaluation of modern arms, armor, and ammunition to the public and industry. ISAA Labs will also offer specialized services to private parties and government entities, including the full-scale recreation of crime scenes for live-ammunition theory testing and forensic validation. The facility will feature a dedicated long-range ballistics testing area to support in-depth ammunition performance analysis. Commercial activities of ISAA Labs will help fund and sustain the nonprofit mission of the ISAA Library.
​
In addition to archival preservation and scientific testing, ISAA will establish and administer a unified global coding and identification system for arms, armor, ammunition, and related accessories — similar to the ISBN system for books. This standard will ensure accurate classification, cataloging, and historical documentation of defense-related articles, both past and present.
​
To begin this endeavor, we are establishing a micro-library to serve as a base of operations for building our initial collection, cataloging resources, and engaging early supporters.
​
Our ultimate goal is to raise the resources necessary to construct purpose-built archival and laboratory facilities, securing ISAA’s role as a world leader in the stewardship, study, certification, and documentation of arms and armor for generations to come. -
