Bulgaria is a 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.^[1]

Despite having local arms factories, until 1944 Bulgaria relied mostly on imports to equip its military. Nevertheless, the Bulgarian defence industry was capable of producing training and light attack aircraft, such as the DAR-10 and Laz-7. After the installment of a Communist government the same year, the country started a process of massive industrialization, but continued to import equipment. By the 1980s a large part of the equipment came from local suppliers. In the late 1980s exports reached about $800 mln. annually, trade partners being mostly Egypt, Algeria, Angola, North Korea, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Cuba and Vietnam.

After the loss of Warsaw Pact and secondary markets, surplus weapons, as well as newly manufactured items, were illicitly exported to a variety of countries and rebel groups across Africa and Asia.^[2]

• Arsenal AD^[3] – oldest weapons manufacturer (est. 1878), largest machine-building company in the country; produces pistols, sub-machine guns, assault rifles, light machine guns, machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars, air-defense systems, anti-tank grenade launchers, automatic grenade launchers, ammunition for small arms, artillery rounds, bombs, anti-tank weapons ammunition, unguided rockets and others;
• TEREM^[4] – Government owned specializing in servicing equipment and producing ammunition and spares;
• VMZ Sopot^[5] – Government owned produces anti-tank guided and unguided missiles, aviation unguided missiles and artillery ammunition;
• Kintex^[6] – Government owned produces ammunition, bombs, unguided rockets, fuses, mines and communication equipment;
• Samel 90^[7] – communication equipment,MRAPs, Infantry fighting vehicles surface-to-air missiles and others;
• Armstechno – drones and UAVs;
• THOR Global Defense Group – Small Arms and Long Range Systems – Franchise Office;
• Apolo GmbH^[8] – uniforms;
• State military technology institute
• MARS Armor Ltd.^[9] – body armor and personal ballistic protection solutions.
• Armaco JSC
• Optix-Thermal and night vision devices and optics.^[10]

•  Afghanistan
•  Algeria
•  Angola
•  Chad
•  Chile
•  Canada
•  People's Republic of China
•  Republic of the Congo^[13]
•  Eritrea
•  Ethiopia
•  Finland
•  Georgia
•  Greece
•  Guinea
•  India
•  Iraq
•  Jordan
•  Lebanon
•  North Macedonia
•  Mauritania
•  Mali
•  Nepal
•  Poland
•  Rwanda ^[13]
•  Sweden
•  Turkey^[14]
•  United Arab Emirates
•  United States^[15]
•  Vietnam
•  Yemen