Defense industry of Bulgaria

Bulgaria is a NATO member country with a large indigenous defence industry. Most of its weaponry is of Soviet design, but with significantly improved performance. Bulgaria is ranked as a "medium" small arms exporter according to the Small Arms Survey.[1]

History

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Despite having local arms factories, until 1944 Bulgaria relied mostly on imports to equip its military. Nevertheless, the Bulgarian defence industry was capable of producing training and light attack aircraft, such as the DAR-10 and Laz-7. After the installment of a Communist government the same year, the country started a process of massive industrialization, but continued to import equipment. By the 1980s a large part of the equipment came from local suppliers. In the late 1980s exports reached about $800 mln. annually, trade partners being mostly Egypt, Algeria, Angola, North Korea, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Cuba and Vietnam.

After the loss of Warsaw Pact and secondary markets, surplus weapons, as well as newly manufactured items, were illicitly exported to a variety of countries and rebel groups across Africa and Asia.[2]

Manufacturers

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Products

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Small arms

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  • AR series – AR-M1 assault rifle and others. The basic AR-M1 is chambered in 5.56x45mm, has a 600 rpm rate of fire, 900 m/s muzzle velocity, nearly 600 g lighter than the original AK-74 (loaded weight), somewhat more durable, a rail for an optical or reflex sights.
  • AKS-74u assault rifle
  • Arsenal Shipka submachine gun
  • LMG light machine gun
  • MG-M1 general purpose machine gun
  • Arcus 98DA pistol
  • Makarov PM pistol

Artillery

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Air defence equipment

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Anti-tank weapons

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Armored vehicles

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A Bulgarian-made MT-LB used by the USMC
  • MT-LB in different versions[11][12]
  • BMP-23
  • BTR-60:
  • BTR-60PAU – Artillery command variant of the BTR-60PA with 4 whip antennas.
  • BTR-60PB with Polish WAT turret from SKOT-2AP. Only a prototype was made.
  • BTR-60PB-MD (bronyetransport’or moderniziran) – BTR-60PB upgraded with VAMO DT3900 or Rover TD-200 diesel engine, four MB smoke grenade dischargers on the turret (two on each side), "Melopa" night sight, new day sight, new NBC protection system and modern radios. It also has a rear view mirror on the left hand side of the hull. Only a prototype was made.
    • BTR-60PB-MD1 – Version for the Bulgarian army, powered by a Cummins ISB 25.30 turbocharged Euro 3 diesel engine of 250 hp and fitted with side hatches. About 150 in service.
    • BTR-60PB-MD3 – export model, fitted with a KamAZ diesel engine, different sights and eight additional smoke grenade launchers in the front right corner of the hull. The prototype, shown in 2004, was based on a BTR-60PA.

Missiles and rockets

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Ammunition

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Other

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Customers

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References

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  1. ^ Small Arms Survey 2011: States of Security (PDF). Oxford University Press. 2011. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2012.
  2. ^ Bulgaria Becomes a Weapons Bazaar, The New York Times, 3 August 1998
  3. ^ "ARSENAL Home Page". Arsenal.bg. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
  4. ^ "ТЕРЕМ – Българските военноремонтни заводи". Terem.bg. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
  5. ^ "VMZ Co". Vmz.bg. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
  6. ^ "Kintex.bg". www.kintex.bg. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  7. ^ "Samel 90". Samel 90. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
  8. ^ "Apolo.bg - the best equipment: Garments, suits, jackets, trousers". Archived from the original on 2011-08-19. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  9. ^ "MARS Armor Homepage". marsarmor.com.
  10. ^ "ОПТИКС термовизионни и нощни изделия, дневни мерници, оптика". www.optixco.com (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  11. ^ "US Analyst Expects Bulgaria to Renew Production of BMP Armored Vehicles". Novinite.com. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Bulgaria has signed contract for sale of 500 MT-LB multirole tracked armored vehicles to Iraq". Army Recognition. 16 June 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  13. ^ a b ""Ер Франс" закарала БГ картечници в Конго". trud.bg. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
  14. ^ Angelovski, Ivan (27 July 2016). "Revealed: the £1bn of weapons flowing from Europe to Middle East" – via www.theguardian.com.
  15. ^ Marzouk, Ivan Angelovski and Lawrence. "Revealed: The Pentagon Is Spending Up To $2.2 Billion on Soviet-Style Arms for Syrian Rebels". OCCRP.
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