Arsenal AD
Small arms, mortars, grenade launchers, ammunition and carbide tooling
Arsenal is the oldest arms maker in Bulgaria and by some distance the largest, with a workforce reported at around 10,500 and net income near 190 million euros in 2021. The line runs back to the Ruse artillery arsenal of 1878, moved to Sofia in 1891 and then to Kazanlak in central Bulgaria in 1924 after the Balkan wars and the First World War, where it operated as the state military factory. It became a joint stock company in 1991 and is privately held today. The military and law enforcement side is what the export catalogue is built around, but the plant also runs a substantial sport and hunting business, an ammunition components operation, a pyrotechnics line and a civilian activities division making cemented carbide tooling and machine tools.
Weapons start with the Kalashnikov pattern. Arsenal builds assault rifles in 5.56x45 mm and 7.62x39 mm across three barrel lengths, from the 215 mm short-barrelled AR-M4SF and AR-M14SF through the 320 mm AR-M2F and AR-M12F to the 415 mm AR-M1, AR-M5, AR-M7 and AR-M9. Semi-automatic SAR versions of the same actions serve police and civilian buyers. Above them sit the LMG and LMG-F light machine guns in rifle calibre and the belt-fed MG-1M and MG-M1 series in 7.62x51 mm and 7.62x54 mm, including naval and vehicle mounts. The Shipka submachine gun covers 9x18 mm and 9x19 mm. Mortars are made as the M60MA and M60CMA at 60 mm, the M81MA at 81 mm and the M82 and M82MA at 82 mm. Grenade launchers run from the UBGL underbarrel family for the GP-25 pattern and the UBGL-M6, M7, M8 and M16 for NATO rifles, through the MSGL revolver launcher, to the UGGL-M1 stand-alone weapon. Recoilless systems come as the light ATGL-L family in the RPG-7 pattern and the heavier 73 mm ATGL-H for the SPG-9. The 23x152 mm Air Defence System ADS and the naval ADS-N, plus the newer Defence System DS shown at EDEX, complete the weapons list.
Ammunition is the larger business. Arsenal loads small arms ammunition, artillery rounds, rounds for grenade launchers in 40 mm low velocity, 40x46 mm, 40x53 mm high velocity and 30 mm for the AGS pattern, rounds for anti-tank recoilless systems, mortar bombs from 60 to 120 mm, combat and non-lethal hand grenades and unguided aviation rockets. Components for ammunition are sold separately, covering the AF-series fuzes for hand grenades, mortar bombs and cannon rounds, propellant powders and charges, primers for artillery cartridges and percussion primers. Sport and hunting brings hunting rifles in the BARR, SLR and SAR families, shotgun shells and the MARS, MAGIYA and SOKOL hunting powders. Pyrotechnics covers 26 mm and 30 mm signal cartridges. Civilian activities sell cemented carbide inserts and tips in milling and turning grades along with universal vertical milling machines and drilling machines. The mix looks old-fashioned until you count the tonnage. Very little of Europe still makes all of this in one town.
- Kalashnikov pattern small arms manufacture
- Belt-fed and light machine gun production
- Mortar and mortar bomb manufacture
- Grenade launcher and grenade ammunition design
- Recoilless anti-tank weapon and rocket production
- Small arms, cannon and artillery ammunition loading
- Fuze, primer and propellant manufacture
- Pyrotechnic and signalling ammunition
- Cemented carbide tooling and machine tool production
- Hunting and sporting firearms and powders
415 mm barrel Kalashnikov pattern rifle in 5.56x45 mm and 7.62x39 mm, the base of the AR-M export family.
Full-length AR-M variants with folding and telescopic stock options.
Full-length AR-M rifle offered with side-folding stock and rail furniture.
320 mm barrel carbine variants of the AR-M family.
215 mm short-barrelled assault rifles for vehicle crews and special units.
Semi-automatic versions of the AR-M rifles for police and civilian markets.
Compact submachine gun chambered in 9x18 mm and 9x19 mm.
Magazine-fed squad automatic weapons in 5.56x45 mm and 7.62x39 mm.
Belt-fed 7.62x51 mm and 7.62x54 mm general purpose machine guns with naval and vehicle variants.
60 mm bipod and commando mortars.
81 mm and 82 mm infantry mortars, including the M82MA variant.
40 mm launchers for Kalashnikov pattern rifles in the GP-25 and GP-30 style.
40x46 mm underbarrel launchers for NATO pattern rifles.
Six-shot 40 mm revolver-type launcher in 40 mm and 40x46 mm versions.
Single-shot 40x46 mm shoulder-fired grenade launcher.
Light recoilless anti-tank grenade launcher in the RPG-7 pattern with a red dot sight.
73 mm heavy recoilless anti-tank system compatible with SPG-9 ammunition.
Towed twin 23 mm anti-aircraft gun system, also offered as the naval ADS-N.
23x152 mm weapon system shown publicly at EDEX 2023.
Low velocity 40 mm and 40x46 mm rounds in high explosive, dual purpose, smoke, illumination, CS and practice natures.
High velocity rounds for Mk19, HK GMG and similar automatic grenade launchers.
Rounds for AGS-17 and AGS-30 pattern automatic grenade launchers.
60, 81, 82 and 120 mm bombs in high explosive, smoke, illumination and practice natures.
23x115 mm, 23x152 mm and 30x165 mm rounds for aircraft, naval and vehicle automatic guns.
40 mm and 73 mm rounds for the ATGL-L and ATGL-H families in HEAT, fragmentation, smoke and illumination.
Combat and non-lethal hand grenades with matching AF-series fuzes.
Air-launched unguided rockets for fixed and rotary wing platforms.
Fuzes for hand grenades, mortar bombs, 23 and 30 mm cannon rounds and 40 mm grenades.
Powders and charge assemblies supplied as ammunition components.
Primers for artillery cartridges and percussion primers for small arms ammunition.
BARR bolt-action and SLR and SAR self-loading hunting rifles in 5.56x45 mm and 7.62x39 mm.
MARS, MAGIYA and SOKOL sporting propellants.
12 and 16 gauge hunting and trap and skeet shells.
26 mm and 30 mm pyrotechnic signal cartridges.
Indexable carbide inserts and brazed tips in milling and turning grades.
Universal vertical milling machines and drilling machines from the civilian activities division.
Programs & Platforms
Kazanlak, Bulgaria
Ownership
Privately held