Arsenal AD
Encyclopedia
Arsenal AD is a Bulgaria
n joint-stock company based in Kazanlak
, engaged primarily in the manufacture of firearms and military equipment. It is Bulgaria
's oldest arms supplier
.
in 1891. After the nation's defeat in the Second Balkan War
and World War I
, in 1924 the company and all of its equipment were relocated in Kazanlak
, a town situated in central Bulgaria
. The armory was given the name Darzhavna voenna fabrika ("State Military Factory").
Initially producing only artillery gun components and ammunition, the factory later began to manufacture gas mask
s (1920s
), nitroglycerin (1930s
), machine tool
s (1940s
) and finally assault rifles, optic sights and B-10 recoilless rifle
s (1950s
). The first assault rifle, a direct copy of the Soviet AK-47
, was produced in 1958. By the 1960s
a total of seven factories were under the company's jurisdiction. Until the Fall of Communism in 1989-1990, the company was named Mashinostroitelen kombinat Fridrikh Engels ("Friedrich Engels
Machinery Works") to conceal its activities as a military enterprise. As part of this strategy it adopted the manufacture of various civilian products, including automobiles such as the then-popular Bulgarrenault
-8. In the late 1980s
and early 1990s
, Arsenal began cooperation with companies from Japan
, Sweden
, Ukraine
and Germany
.
Currently Arsenal AD is a private company conducting international arms trade, although it also expands its civilian exports, now including high-precision metalworking machinery, mobile robot manipulators and synthetic diamond
s.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n joint-stock company based in Kazanlak
Kazanlak
Kazanlak, formerly Kazanlık is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountain range, at the eastern end of the Rose Valley...
, engaged primarily in the manufacture of firearms and military equipment. It is Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
's oldest arms supplier
Arms industry
The arms industry is a global industry and business which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology and equipment. It comprises government and commercial industry involved in research, development, production, and service of military material, equipment and facilities...
.
History
The company's history can be traced back to 1878 with the first armory in the country - the Ruse Artillery Arsenal. Due to strategic concerns it was relocated in SofiaSofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
in 1891. After the nation's defeat in the Second Balkan War
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 29 June 1913. Bulgaria had a prewar agreement about the division of region of Macedonia...
and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, in 1924 the company and all of its equipment were relocated in Kazanlak
Kazanlak
Kazanlak, formerly Kazanlık is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountain range, at the eastern end of the Rose Valley...
, a town situated in central Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. The armory was given the name Darzhavna voenna fabrika ("State Military Factory").
Initially producing only artillery gun components and ammunition, the factory later began to manufacture gas mask
Gas mask
A gas mask is a mask put on over the face to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Some gas masks are also respirators, though the word...
s (1920s
1920s
File:1920s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Sean Hogan during the Irish Civil War; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the entire decade; In...
), nitroglycerin (1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
), machine tool
Machine tool
A machine tool is a machine, typically powered other than by human muscle , used to make manufactured parts in various ways that include cutting or certain other kinds of deformation...
s (1940s
1940s
File:1940s decade montage.png|Above title bar: events which happened during World War II : From left to right: Troops in an LCVP landing craft approaching "Omaha" Beach on "D-Day"; Adolf Hitler visits Paris, soon after the Battle of France; The Holocaust occurred during the war as Nazi Germany...
) and finally assault rifles, optic sights and B-10 recoilless rifle
B-10 recoilless rifle
The B-10 recoilless rifle is a Soviet 82 mm smoothbore recoilless rifle. It could be carried on the rear of a BTR-50 armoured personnel carrier. It was a development of the earlier SPG-82, and entered Soviet service during 1954...
s (1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
). The first assault rifle, a direct copy of the Soviet AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
, was produced in 1958. By the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
a total of seven factories were under the company's jurisdiction. Until the Fall of Communism in 1989-1990, the company was named Mashinostroitelen kombinat Fridrikh Engels ("Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
Machinery Works") to conceal its activities as a military enterprise. As part of this strategy it adopted the manufacture of various civilian products, including automobiles such as the then-popular Bulgarrenault
Bulgarrenault
Bulgarrenault was an automobile produced in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and the result of a collaboration between Metalhim and Bulet...
-8. In the late 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
and early 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
, Arsenal began cooperation with companies from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Currently Arsenal AD is a private company conducting international arms trade, although it also expands its civilian exports, now including high-precision metalworking machinery, mobile robot manipulators and synthetic diamond
Synthetic diamond
Synthetic diamond is diamond produced in a technological process; as opposed to natural diamond, which is created in geological processes. Synthetic diamond is also widely known as HPHT diamond or CVD diamond, denoting the production method, High-Pressure High-Temperature synthesis and Chemical...
s.
Pistols and submachine guns
- P-MO2 (9x19mm Arsenal)
- Shipka SMGArsenal ShipkaThe Shipka is a 9 mm Bulgarian submachine gun produced in 1996 by the Bulgarian company Arsenal. The name is a reference to the famous Shipka Pass, near Arsenal's Kazanlak headquarters, in the Balkans where Bulgarian volunteers and Russian troops defeated the Ottoman Empire during the...
(9x18mm Makarov / 9x19mm Parabellum)
Assault rifles
- AR-M1AK-74The AK-74 is an assault rifle developed in the early 1970s in the Soviet Union as the replacement for the earlier AKM...
/AR-M1FAK-74The AK-74 is an assault rifle developed in the early 1970s in the Soviet Union as the replacement for the earlier AKM...
- based on AK-74, but heavier, with a lower rate of fire, higher muzzle velocity and in several cartridge types such as 5.56x45mm NATO5.56x45mm NATO5.56×45mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the United States and originally chambered in the M16 rifle. Under STANAG 4172, it is a standard cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries. It is derived from, but not identical to, the .223 Remington cartridge...
chambering; equipped with luminous sights. - AR-M2 / AR-M2F, AR-SF - based on AKS-74U with 5.56x45mm cartridge and laser sights
- AR-M4SF - extremely short development of the AKS-74 with red dot sightRed dot sightA red dot sight is a common classification for a type of non-magnifying reflector sight for firearms that gives the user an aimpoint in the form of an illuminated red dot...
, provision to mount a night vision or laser sight - AR-M7AKMThe AKM is a 7.62mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is an upgraded version of the AK-47 rifle and was developed in the 1950s....
- an all-polymer, heavier version of the AKM with a folding stock, luminous sights and a much higher muzzle velocity (910 m/sec). Chambered in 5.56x45 NATO or 7.62x39mm (AR-M7F). - AR-M9 - essentially an AKM copy with black polymer lining.
- AR, AR-F, AR-1, AR-1F - improved AK-47AK-47The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
copies with black polymer lining, luminous sights and rails.
Machine guns
- LMGRPKThe RPK is a 7.62x39mm light machine gun of Soviet design, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the late 1950s, parallel with the AKM assault/battle rifle...
/LMG-FRPKThe RPK is a 7.62x39mm light machine gun of Soviet design, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the late 1950s, parallel with the AKM assault/battle rifle...
- RPKRPKThe RPK is a 7.62x39mm light machine gun of Soviet design, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the late 1950s, parallel with the AKM assault/battle rifle...
copies in 7.62x39mm, 5.45x39mm or 5.56x45mm NATO chambering - Arsenal MGPK machine gunThe PK is a 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia. The PK machine gun was introduced in the 1960s and replaced the SGM and RPD machine guns in Soviet service...
series - different versions of the PK machine gun, all with polymer lining and slightly higher muzzle velocity;
Grenade launchers
- Lavina - 40mm semi-automatic revolver-type grenade launcher;
- Arsenal MSGL - 40x46mm multi-shot grenade launcher; somewhat similar to the Milkor MGLMilkor MGLThe MGL is a lightweight 40 mm semi-automatic, 6-shot grenade launcher developed and manufactured in South Africa by Milkor Ltd. The MGL was demonstrated as a concept to the South African Defence Force in 1981. The operating principle was immediately accepted and subjected to a stringent...
- UBGL series - underbarrel grenade launchers for all AR and AK series of assault rifles, the Bushmaster M4 Type Carbine, M4 carbineM4 carbineThe M4 carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner and made by ArmaLite. It is a shorter and lighter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle, with 80% parts commonality.It is a gas-operated,...
and M16 rifleM16 rifleThe M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
s - ATGL-LRPG-7The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
- a lighter RPG-7 version with a more powerful warhead and a red dot sightRed dot sightA red dot sight is a common classification for a type of non-magnifying reflector sight for firearms that gives the user an aimpoint in the form of an illuminated red dot...
; - ATGL-HSPG-9The SPG-9 Kopye is a Russian tripod-mounted man-portable, 73 millimetre calibre recoilless gun developed by the Soviet Union. It fires fin-stabilised, rocket-assisted HE and HEAT projectiles similar to those fired by the 73 mm 2A28 Grom low pressure gun of the BMP-1 vehicle...
- a heavier SPG-9 copy with a higher muzzle velocity; - AGL-30MAGS-17The AGS-17 Plamya is a Soviet-designed automatic grenade launcher currently in production in the Russian Federation and in service worldwide.-Description:...
- a heavier, more durable copy of the AGS-17 Plamya
Artillery and AA guns
- M6-210 - 60mm mortar
- M8 - 81mm mortar
- M82 - 82mm mortar
- ADSZU-23-2The ZU-23-2, also known as ZU-23, is a Soviet towed 23 mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon. ZU stands for Zenitnaya Ustanovka - anti-aircraft mount.-Development history:...
- a ZU-23-2 copy with advanced sights and a computerized fire control system
Other firearms and products
- BARR series - bolt-action hunting rifles, based on AK series;
- SAR series - semi-automatic hunting rifles
- HE-FRAG and flash bang grenadeGrenadeA grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s
Other products
- Computer Numerical Control (CNC) equipment
- Universal Drilling & Milling Machines
- Universal Milling Machines
- Universal Drilling Machines
- Robot manipulators
- Synthetic diamonds
- Horizontal Milling Machines
- Horizontal Drilling Machines
- Vertical Milling Machines
- Vertical Drilling Machines
- Milling Heads
- Cemented Carbide Inserts
- Cemented Carbide Tips
- Cemented Carbide Special Tools
- Hunting Powders "Sokol", "Mars", "Magia"
- Nitrocellulose for Lacquer Production
- Nitrocellulose for Dynamite Production
See also
- TEREMTEREMTEREM is a Bulgarian arms supplier for the Bulgarian armed forces. It is also engaged with repairing military aircraft and vehicles, as well as their components. It is partly responsible for the local production of APCs and IFVs, radio equipment and spare parts for different types of machinery....
, another Bulgarian arms manufacturing company - Defense industry of BulgariaDefense industry of BulgariaBulgaria is 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.- History :...