Research help? Finding databases...

[Entropy]

Janes would be the most authoritative and comprehensive source and I think they will have what you need. Here's what you get with "all the world's aircraft" for example:

Jane's All the World's Aircraft sets the standard in aviation reference. It provides exhaustive technical detail on more than 1,000 civil and military aircraft currently being produced or under development by approximately 560 companies. Photographs and line drawings aid recognition and comparison, giving you the ability to evaluate competitors, recognise trends in aerospace development, identify potential buyers and select business partners. You can check key specifications for any aircraft, including dimensions, performance, structure, landing gear, power plants and armaments. In addition, there are details of the worlds aircraft manufacturers and their programmes, so you can identify key contracts, production rates, customers and order backlogs.

Key contents include:
* Fixed-wing, rotary-wing and lighter-than-air
* Air-launched missiles summary
* Aero-engines summary
* First flights of the previous year
* Aerospace calendar of the previous year
* Official world records
* International aircraft registration prefixes
* Propeller technology
* Glossary

Benefits of online version
An online subscription provides: continuous online updates; search capabilities, additional photographs and diagrams, an 18-year archive, and exclusive access to production tables, available in Excel or HTML, to facilitate your analysis.

There are similar volumes on infantry weapons, separate volumes for different kinds of vehicles, artillery, Navy stuff, etc. I bolded a portion in the quote there which looks like exactly what you're looking for. Unfortunately, Jane's products don't come cheap. This one volume is $2300 for online access and to get a complete picture of all military hardware will likely require well over ten volumes.

So since I'm assuming you don't have an extra $20-30k sitting around, I would look for someone or, more likely, some organization or library who has these subscriptions. I'm betting it will be very difficult.

Other than that I fear you will be forced to spend an inordinate amount of time simply compiling your data into a usable format. If it's any consolation you may be able to package and sell it judging by what Jane's charges!

Hope that helps!

PS: I see now from your introduction thread that you're attending Georgetown in DC. If there's any city on the planet where you can find an online subscription to jane's, DC would be it. I'd suggest contacting the Georgetown library to see if they can help you track it down.