List of modern equipment of the Bulgarian land forces

This is a list of the equipment currently in use by the Bulgarian Land Forces.

This article is about weapons and equipment. For detailed information on history and deployment, see Bulgarian Land Forces.

Small arms

Sidearms
Model Image Origin Type Caliber Notes
SIG Pro Germany /   Switzerland /  United StatesHandgun9×19mm ParabellumProduction in United States. Used by Bulgarian Military Police and SKSO (special forces)
Arcus 98DA Belgium
/  United States
 Bulgaria		Handgun9×19mm Parabellum
Makarov People's Republic of Bulgaria /
 Bulgaria		Handgun9×18mmLocal production and standard issue to army.The Army said that they plan on replacing the makarov pistol . Copy pistols were produced since 1960. Arsenal 10 produced them between 1970 and 2007. Can be recognised through "((10))" arsenal markings, straight hammer serrations, slim star grip shells .[1]

Assault rifles
Model Image Origin Type Caliber Notes
AKS-74U Soviet Union
 People's Republic of Bulgaria /
 Bulgaria		Personal defense weapon5.45×39mmUsed by Bulgarian Military police. Produced locally.
Heckler & Koch G36 GermanyAssault rifle5.56×45mm NATOStandard assault rifle of Military Police
Steyr AUG AustriaAssault rifle5.56×45mm NATOSpecial forces only. In limited use with the 101st Alpine Regiment.
AR-M1 BulgariaAssault rifle5.56×45mm NATOStandard issue infantry rifle of the Bulgarian Army.[2]
AR-M4SF BulgariaAssault rifle5.56×45mm NATOCarbine rifle made by Arsenal Jsco and used by the Joint Special Operations Command
AKM Soviet Union
 People's Republic of Bulgaria		Assault rifle7.62×39mmProduced locally and in reserve.[1][3]

Submachine guns
Model Image Origin Type Caliber Notes
Arsenal Shipka BulgariaSubmachine gun9×18mm Makarov
9×19mm Parabellum		Standard issue submachine gun of army.
Heckler & Koch MP5 GermanySubmachine gun9×19mm ParabellumUsed by Bulgarian Special Forces and Military Police.
FB PM-63 Polish People's RepublicSubmachine gun9×18mm MakarovUsed by Bulgarian Special Forces.

Sniper rifles
Model Image Origin Type Caliber Notes
Barrett M82 United StatesAnti-materiel rifle.50 BMGUsed by Bulgarian Special Forces
Blaser R93 Tactical GermanySniper rifle7.62×51mm NATO
Heckler & Koch MSG90 West Germany /
 Germany		Sniper rifle7.62×51mm NATO
Heckler & Koch PSG1 West Germany /
 Germany		Semi-automatic sniper rifle7.62×51mm NATOPSG-1A1 variates and used by Military Police of Bulgarian Land Forces.
Dragunov sniper rifle Soviet Union
 People's Republic of Bulgaria /
 Bulgaria		Semi-automatic sniper rifle, designated marksman rifle7.62×54mmRProduced locally.[1]

Machine guns
Model Image Origin Type Caliber Notes
NSV BulgariaHeavy machine gun12.7×108mmStandard issue heavy machine gun of the Bulgarian Army and Produced by Arsenal [4]
PK Soviet Union
 Bulgaria		Universal machine gun7.62×54mmRUsed by Special forces and Regular units, Produced locally. PK/PKM copies were produced as the MG-1 & MG-1M.[1][5]
RPK Soviet Union
 Bulgaria		Light machine gun
Squad automatic weapon		7.62×39mm M43Produced locally by Arsenal as the LMG in three different calibers, 7.62×39mm, 5.45×39mm and 5.56×45mm NATO. A folding stock variant is known as the LMG-F.[1][6][7][8]

Anti-tank weapons
Model Image Origin Type Caliber Notes
RPG-22 Soviet Union
 Bulgaria		Light anti-tank weaponHigh-explosive anti-tank with penetration of 400 mm versus RHAProduced locally at VMZ Sopot.[9]
SPG-9 Soviet Union
 Bulgaria		Recoilless gun
Anti-tank gun		73 mm (2.87 in) smoothbore[10]Produced locally as SPG-9DNM
RPG-7 Soviet Union
 Bulgaria		Rocket-propelled grenade launcher40 mmProduced locally by Arsenal Corporation as ATGL-L.[11]

Mortars
Model Image Origin Type Caliber Notes
M6-211 Mortar BulgariaLight mortar60mmProduced locally.
M8 Mortar BulgariaMedium mortar81mmProduced locally.
M82 Soviet UnionMedium mortar82mm[12]
2S12 Sani Soviet UnionHeavy mortar120mm[12]

Other small arms
Model Image Origin Type Caliber Notes
Mk 19 grenade launcher United StatesAutomatic grenade launcher40 mm grenadeUsed on the M1117
AGS-30 Russia
 Bulgaria		Automatic grenade launcher30mm grenade30×25mm grenade launchers, AGS-17 derivate by Arsenal JSCo
FN 303 United StatesSemi-automatic less-lethal riot gun17.3 mm (0.68 in)In use with the Land Forces and the Military Police.[13]
UBGL-M7 BulgariaGrenade launcher40mm caseless grenadeUnderbarrel grenade launcher by Arsenal JSCo.
UBGL-M6 BulgariaGrenade launcher40mm caseless grenadeUnderbarrel grenade launcher by Arsenal JSCo.
GP-25 Soviet Union
 People's Republic of Bulgaria /
 Bulgaria		Grenade launcher40mm caseless grenadeProduced locally by Arsenal AD as the UBGL[14] and the UBGL-1.[15]

Anti-tank guided missiles
Model Image Origin Type Caliber Notes
9M117 Bastion Soviet UnionLaser beam riding anti-tank missile100 mm projectile
9K115 Metis Soviet UnionAnti-tank missileHigh-explosive anti-tank shaped charge
9K114 Shturm Soviet UnionAnti-tank missileHigh-explosive anti-tank shaped charge
9M113 Konkurs Soviet UnionAnti-tank missile9N131 high-explosive anti-tank
9K111 Fagot Soviet Union
 People's Republic of Bulgaria /
 Bulgaria		Anti-tank missileHigh-explosive anti-tank warheadProduced locally.
9M14 Malyutka Soviet Union
 People's Republic of Bulgaria /
 Bulgaria		Anti-tank missileHigh-explosive anti-tankProduced locally and in reserve.

Man-portable air defense systems
Model Image Origin Type Caliber Notes
9K38 Igla Soviet Union
 People's Republic of Bulgaria /
 Bulgaria		Man-portable air-defense systems1.17 kg (2.6 lb) with 390 g (14 oz) explosiveProduced locally
9K34 Strela-3 Soviet Union
 People's Republic of Bulgaria /
 Bulgaria		Man-portable air-defense systems1.15 kg directed-energy blast fragmentation warhead (Strela-2M), 370 g HE contentProduced locally and in reserve.
9K32 Strela-2 Soviet Union
 People's Republic of Bulgaria /
 Bulgaria		Man portable surface-to-air missile launcher1.15 kg directed-energy blast fragmentation warhead (Strela-2M), 370 g HE contentProduced locally and in reserve.

Armoured and utility vehicles
Model Image Origin Variant Quantity Details
Tanks
T-72  Soviet Union T-72M
T-72M1/M2		 ~160 Possibly 250 in-store.[16] In 2023, the Bulgarian Armed Forces received 44 T-72M/M1s modified by the state companies TEREM and Elbit.[17][18]
Name Origin Type Number Photo Notes
Armoured fighting vehicles
BMP-23/30  People's Republic of Bulgaria
 Soviet Union		 Infantry fighting vehicle 120[12] Locally designed infantry fighting vehicle with a 23-mm automatic cannon, 9K111 Fagot anti-tank guided missile launchers with a total of six missiles and an SA-7 Grail man-portable air-defense systems.
BMP-1P  Soviet Union Infantry fighting vehicle 100[12] Soviet tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicle with a 73-mm smoothbore gun.
BTR-60PB  Soviet Union
 People's Republic of Bulgaria
/  Bulgaria		 Armoured personnel carrier 150[12] modernised to the BTR-60PB-MD1 standards. Possibly 100 in store. Produced locally.
MT-LB / MT-LBu  Soviet Union
 People's Republic of Bulgaria
/  Bulgaria		 Armoured personnel carrier 100[12] Possibly 600 in store . Light multi-purpose vehicle; mostly used as an armoured personnel carrier. Produced locally.
HMMWV  United States Armoured jeep 52[19] 50 are the up-armored M1114 variant, and 2 are ambulances.
BRDM-2  Soviet Union Scout car 12[12] Armoured scout car. 200 in reserve.
9P148 "Konkurs"  Soviet Union Anti-tank vehicle 24 Anti-tank vehicle based around the BRDM-2 with five AT-5 Spandrel missiles
Guardian Xtreme 4x4  United Arab Emirates
 Bulgaria		 MRAP 98[20] The armoured tactical vehicles are made by the SAMARM JV between Bulgarian manufacturer Samel 90 and UAE-based International Armored Group.
Mercedes-Benz G-Class  Austria
 West Germany		 Armoured jeep 300[12] A contract has been signed with Germany for additional 300 4x4 armoured G 280 CDi and non-armoured G 270 CDi jeep; partially armed with locally produced PKM machine guns
UAZ-469  Soviet Union Patrol vehicle 700 Off-road military light utility vehicle
Plasan Sand Cat  Israel Patrol vehicle 25[21] 4x4 armoured patrol vehicle used by the Military Police service
M1117  United States Patrol vehicle 17[12] 4x4 multi-purpose armoured patrol vehicle
Mercedes-Benz Zetros  Germany Off-road truck for extreme operations 335[12] As of 2012, it operates 335 trucks with 30 more on order

Artillery and air defense
Name Origin Type Number Photo Notes
Artillery
SS-21 Scarab-A  Soviet Union Tactical ballistic missile 18 The only remaining ballistic missile system from the now-disbanded Rocket Forces; 8 TELs and a classified quantity of missiles are in service.
BM-21  Soviet Union Multiple rocket launcher 192[12] 122-mm multiple-launch rocket system. Over 200 in reserve.
2S1 Gvozdika  Soviet Union Self-propelled howitzer 150[12] 122-mm self-propelled howitzer (possibly 500 in store)
D-20  Soviet Union Howitzer 100 152-mm towed howitzer; principal heavy artillery piece of the Bulgarian Army
MT-12  Soviet Union Anti-tank gun 200 100-mm anti-tank gun, now used mostly as conventional HE artillery
Air defense
S-300  Soviet Union Surface-to-air missile system 10[12] Ten S-300 launchers, divided into two units with five launchers each.
SA-8 Gecko  Soviet Union Surface-to-air missile system 24[12] Highly mobile short-range surface-to-air missile system with 15 km range
SA-6 Gainful  Soviet Union Surface-to-air missile system 20[12] Mobile surface-to-air missile system is a Soviet low to medium-level air defense system designed to protect ground forces from air attack.
SA-13 Gopher  Soviet Union Surface-to-air missile system 20 Short-range battlefield surface-to-air missile system with 5 km range
S-200  Soviet Union Surface-to-air missile system 10[12] Long-range high-altitude surface-to-air missile system with 300 km range
S-75 Dvina  Soviet Union Surface-to-air missile system 18 High-altitude surface-to-air missile system with 45 km range

In reserve

S-125 Neva/Pechora  Soviet Union Surface-to-air missile system 32[12] Low-altitude surface-to-air missile system with 35 km range
ZU-23-2  Soviet Union AA gun 128 Most ZU-23-2s in Bulgarian service are mounted on ZIL-131 trucks.
Radar
P-14  Soviet Union 2D VHF Radar 2-dimensional air search radar.[22]
P-18  Soviet Union 2D VHF Radar 2-dimensional air search radar[22]
P-35/37MV1 Khristo  Soviet Union 2D E band/F band P-37MV1 Bar Lock Upgrade[22]
ST-68U  Soviet Union 3D radar Used on the S-300 system[22]

Unmanned aerial vehicles
Name Origin Type Details
Aerosonde Mk4.7  United States Surveillance/Reconnaissance UAV The Aerosonde Mk 4.7 was developed for aerial reconnaissance, surveillance, obtaining information on ground and moving targets. The system can also be used as a means of conducting reconnaissance of artillery targets. [23]
AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven  United States Surveillance/Reconnaissance UAV The RQ-11 Raven is a small hand-launched remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle.The Bulgarian Land Forces operate the RQ-11 since 2015.[24]


Potential/future acquisitions
Name Origin Type Quantity Image Details
Stryker  United States Armoured fighting vehicle 183 The US State Department has approved a possible sale to Bulgaria of 183 Stryker combat vehicles and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 1.5 billion

Includes 90 XM1296 Infantry Carrier Vehicles - Dragoon; 17 M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicles; 9 M1132 Engineer Squad Vehicles; 33 M1130 Command Vehicles; 24 M1133 Medical Evacuation Vehicles 10 M1135 Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, Reconnaissance Vehicles (NBCRV).The Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Defence said in an interview that Bulgaria is buying 183 Stryker AFV and 15 support vehicles .On September 21st the Bulgarian Council of Ministers approved the purchase of total 183 Strykers.The purchase was approved by the Bulgarian parliament's Defence commision on the 5th of october 2023 [25][26][27][28][29]

Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck(HEMTT)  United States 8x8 Tactical truck 15 Bulgaria requested to buy 5 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) Light Equipment Transports; 5 Modular Catastrophic Recovery Systems; 2 M1120A4 HEMTT Load Handling Systems; 5 M984A4 Wrecker HEMTTs.[30][31]
Reconnaissance Drones  Greece
 Israel		 Tactical reconnaissance UAV 14
Picture is illustrative
 Bulgaria's Ministry of Defence invited 24 companies in the country and abroad to bid to supply 14 tactical reconnaissance drones for military use.

The first lot involves the supply of 12 mini drone systems. And second lot involves delivery of 2 small UAVs. At the end, the Greek company based in Athens was ranked first for the delivery of the 12 Mini drone systems. The company from Israel has been selected to supply 2 Small UAVs.[32]

New Artillery Systems Yet to be decided. 155 mm Self propelled howitzer 24-36
Picture is illustrative
 The Bulgarian Ministry of Defence plans to acquire new 155 mm artillery systems.Some of the requirements are the artillery to be wheeled for mobility and to have a armored hull.The favorites for this project are CAESAR by''Nexter Systems'' and ATMOS 2000 by ''Elbit Systems''.[33][34]
NASAMS(or other system which can utilize the AIM-9X Sidewinder).  Norway
 United States or

other.

 Surface-to-air missile systems able to utilize AIM-9X Sidewinder Unknown
Picture is illustrative
 The Bulgarian Ministry of Defence plans to acquire Surface-to-air missile systems which can utilize the AIM-9X Sidewinders which are going to be used by the Bulgarian Air Force's F-16 Block 70s.[35]
New 3D radar  Israel
 United States
 Spain
 France
 Italy		 Early warning

radar

 5 stationary and 2 mobile
Picture of the Israeli proposal-The ELM-2084.
 The companies that are participating in the competition are: Israeli company ''Elta Systems'',US company ''Lockheed Martin'',Spanish company ''Indra Sistemas'',French company ''Thales Group'' and Italian company ''Leonardo S.p.A.''.The Radars will be used by Bulgarian Air Force.[36]
RBS 15 Mk.3  Sweden Coastal Anti-ship missiles Unknown
Bulgaria is arming it's coastal artillery with RBS 15 Mk.3 missiles
 Bulgaria is buying RBS 15 Mk.3 missiles for around 50 Million BGN.The RBS 15 Mk.3 will be used by the Bulgarian Navy[37]
M142 HIMARS(or equal system)  United States

Or other

 Multiple Launch Rocket System Unknown
M142 HIMARS
The Bulgarian Ministry of Defence and The Chief of Defence are interested in acquring the HIMARS or an equal system for The Bulgarian Land Forces.[38]

Retired equipment
  • PT-76 amphibious tanks (250)
  • T-62 tanks (250, sold to Ethiopia, Yemen and Angola)
  • TV-62
  • PTS
  • T-55AM2 tanks (1,400 kept in storage in the province of Montana)
  • T-34 tanks (177, some sold to Mali and other African countries; 42 kept in storage near the village of Ohrid, Bulgaria; some are used as anti-tank weapons targets; the rest of the tanks were scrapped)
  • BRDM-1
  • BTR-152
  • BTR-40
  • BTR-50PU
  • SS-23 (8 launchers + 24 missiles, destroyed)
  • FROG-7 (24 launchers + dozens of missiles, destroyed)
  • Scud-B (36 launchers + dozens of missiles, destroyed)
  • AT-1 Snapper anti-tank guided missiles
  • BM-13 multiple rocket launchers

See also

References
  1. Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  2. "Defense & Security Intelligence & Analysis: IHS Jane's – IHS". Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  3. Personal infantry weapons: old weapons or new hardware in the coming decades? – Free Online Library. Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved on 2014-04-20.
  4. "12,7 mm Arsenal Multi-purpose Machine Gun MG-U". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  5. "G3 Defence Magazine August 2010". calameo.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  6. "Arsenal's LMG Page, 7.62×39mm". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 2002-11-11. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  7. "Arsenal's LMG Page, 5.56×45mm". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 2003-02-25. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  8. "Arsenal's LMG Page, 5.45×39mm". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 2002-11-11. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  9. "RPG-22 NETTO". VMZ Sopot Official Website. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  10. OPFOR Worldwide Equipment Guide, TRADOC DCSINT Threat Support Directorate, January 21, 1999
  11. ATGL-L anti-tank grenade launcher Archived 2010-08-21 at the Wayback Machine, arsenal.bg
  12. "Bulgarian Defense Information". European Defense Information. Armed Forces.co.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  13. Армията се въоръжи и с газови пистолети Archived 2006-07-17 at the Wayback Machine, Segabg, 30 June 2006
  14. Arsenal Corporation. "Arsenal 40 mm Underbarrel Grenade Launcher UBGL". Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  15. Arsenal Corporation. "Arsenal 40 mm Underbarrel Grenade Launcher UBGL-1". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  16. "Bulgaria Defence Information - European Defence Information - Bulgarian Army - Bulgarian Navy - Bulgarian Air Force". www.armedforces.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  17. Oryx. "Modernisation On A Budget: Bulgaria's Arms Acquisitions". Oryx. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  18. "Bulgarian T-72 upgrade expected to be completed in 2023". Janes.com. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  19. "Bulgaria to buy humvees". Archived from the original on 8 December 2008.
  20. "Bulgaria receives special forces vehicles". Janes.com. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  22. "Inside Bulgaria's growingly obsolescent Air Defence force". www.key.aero. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  23. news.bg (2020-10-15). "Армията ни демонстрира специален дрон". News.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  24. "Безпилотни самолети в българската армия". Vesti.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  25. "US State Department Approves USD 1.5 Bln Potential Sale of 183 Stryker Combat Vehicles to Bulgaria". www.bta.bg. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  26. "Ген. Атанас Запрянов: Купуваме 183 машини "Страйкър" от САЩ". www.24chasa.bg. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  27. "Кабинетът одобри проекта за закупуване на нови бойни машини „Страйкър"". Dnes.dir.bg. 2023-09-21. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  28. Купуваме 183 бронирани бойни машини, решиха депутатите от Комисията по отбрана, retrieved 2023-10-04
  29. ""Достатъчно като за начало". България е напът да купи 198 бронирани машини "Страйкър"". Свободна Европа (in Bulgarian). 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  30. "US State Department Approves USD 1.5 Bln Potential Sale of 183 Stryker Combat Vehicles to Bulgaria". www.bta.bg. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  31. ""Достатъчно като за начало". България е напът да купи 198 бронирани машини "Страйкър"". Свободна Европа (in Bulgarian). 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  32. "Компании от Гърция и Израел ще доставят дронове на армията ни - Новини от Actualno". www.actualno.com (in Bulgarian). 2022-09-07. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  33. Capital.bg (2022-12-21). "Покрай войната армията ни поиска нова "натовска" артилерия". www.capital.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  34. "Missile,Radars,Armored Vehicles.How Bulgaria is modernizing rapidly to combat Russian Agression". Свободна Европа (in Bulgarian). 2023-09-12. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  35. "Missile,Radars,Armored Vehicles.How Bulgaria is modernizing rapidly to combat Russian Agression". Свободна Европа (in Bulgarian). 2023-09-12. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  36. Capital.bg (2023-08-23). "Военното министерство отваря оферти за нови 3D радари, проектът ще е за над 400 млн. лв". www.capital.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  37. БЛИЦ (2023-09-08). "Заради руската агресия в Черно море: Модернизираме бреговата артилерия с ракети RBS-15 ВИДЕО". Blitz.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  38. "Армията ни поиска HIMARS, мислят как да плащат без одобрение от парламента (Обзор)". www.24chasa.bg. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  • or The download link(s) to details of Bulgaria's military equipment, including the reserve as of 2013. Note: some of the reserve items are not listed on this page, such as the 430 T55's in reserve status.
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