23 September 2020
Yesterday a number of firearms manufactured by Factory Z111 were displayed by the General Department of Defense Industry in preparation for the upcoming 11th Party Congress of the People's Army of Vietnam (2020-2025 period). Most of these firearms are already familiar to most but we've decided to cover them anyway.
- 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐥 𝐀𝐜𝐞 𝟑𝟏/𝟑𝟐 - Israel Weapons Industries granted Vietnam license production of the Galil Ace back in 2014.
- 𝐒𝐓𝐕-𝟐𝟏𝟓/𝟑𝟖𝟎 - localized versions of the Galil Ace with thinner handguard, Kalashnikov-style fire selector, etc. These are currently being mass-produced by Factory Z111 for widespread issue across the PAVN.
- 𝟒𝐌𝐊𝟒 - locally produced Lee Enfield rifle. There was a lot controversy over the weapon because these are the same Lee Enfields once sold by Australian International Arms (AIA) as the M10 No.4 Mk IV, AIA denying multiple times they were using Vietnam to manufacture the rifles. The company went out of business in 2011.
- 𝐀𝐊𝐌, 𝐀𝐊𝐧, 𝐀𝐊𝐌𝐂, etc - all locally manufactured Kalashnikov variants with changes in the grip, stock, handguard, etc.
- "𝐌𝟏𝟔𝐀𝟐" - this throws VietDefense completely off because that looks nothing like an M16A2. Even if it was a localize M16A2 similar to the M18 carbine developed from leftover M16A1s it should be noted that the M16A2 retains a fixed carry handle similar to that of the A1...the "M16A2" in this photo has picatinny rails as seen by the mounted Meprolight M21 optic atop the rifle.
𝐊𝟓𝟒𝐌, 𝐊𝟏𝟒 - locally produced variants of the Type 54/Tokarev TT33.
𝐊𝟓𝟗 - locally produced version of Makarov.
𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 - self explanatory.
𝐒𝐏𝐋𝟒𝟎 - reverse engineered from M79 grenade launchers leftover from the Vietnam War. These are actually manufactured by Factory Z125 instead of Factory Z111.