Zastava Arms

Zastava Arms dates its founding to 27 October 1853, when a cannon foundry opened in Kragujevac under Serbia's ruling prince. That makes it one of the oldest continuously operating arms factories anywhere, and the plant has survived two world wars, a socialist federation, NATO bombing in 1999 and the collapse of the Yugoslav market. Roughly 2,500 people work there. The Serbian government holds the controlling stake, and the company operates as a joint-stock business within a national defence sector coordinated through the state trading house Yugoimport SDPR. Turnover was about 42 million euro in 2023 with strong net margins, and products go to more than forty countries.

Kalashnikov derivatives are the backbone. The M70 in 7.62x39 mm is the classic Yugoslav pattern rifle, distinguished from Soviet originals by a thicker receiver, a grenade-launching gas cutoff and a longer trunnion, and it has been built in Kragujevac in enormous numbers. The M21 followed in 5.56x45 mm NATO for the Serbian Armed Forces. The newest generation is the M19, developed in 2019 and adopted by the Serbian army in 2022, chambered in 7.62x39 mm or 6.5 mm Grendel with a long-stroke gas system and a modern rail and furniture set, joined at Partner 2025 by the M24, a modular 5.56x45 mm rifle. Support weapons run from the M72 and M77 squad automatics through the M84 general purpose machine gun, the M87 heavy machine gun and the M02 Coyote, a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun that has become a common remote weapon station fitment across the region.

Long range precision is a distinct line. The M76 and M91 designated marksman rifles serve alongside the M93 Black Arrow, a 12.7 mm anti-materiel rifle that has been widely exported, and the newer M12 Black Spear in 12.7x108 mm and .50 BMG. Air defence work survives in the M55 towed triple-barrelled 20 mm autocannon, still in service and still in production for customers who want cheap volume fire. Handguns cover the CZ99 and its EZ9 export version, the compact M88, and smaller pocket pistols. A large sporting and hunting catalogue sits alongside the military range, including PAP series semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, and Zastava Arms USA in Illinois imports and assembles those for the American market, which has become a meaningful revenue source in its own right. Serbian government investment has funded modernisation of the Kragujevac plant since 2015, aimed at raising output and moving the export mix towards newer designs. The company sits inside a wider Serbian defence sector that includes the ammunition maker Sloboda Cacak and the vehicle and rocket work of Yugoimport SDPR, which acts as the state trading and integration house for foreign sales, and Zastava's small arms are frequently sold as part of those larger packages rather than on their own. That structure gives a factory of modest size access to government to government deals it could never negotiate alone. Total assets stood at about 172 million euro in 2023 against revenue of roughly 42 million, which is the balance sheet of a plant carrying far more industrial capacity than its current order book uses. Old machinery and a long backlog remain the constraints.