VMZ Sopot

State-owned plant for rockets, anti-tank missiles and artillery ammunition, Bulgaria's largest.

Vazovski Mashinostroitelni Zavodi (VMZ) EAD is Bulgaria's largest armaments plant and its only remaining wholly state-owned weapons factory. Construction in Sopot began in 1936 and the state military factory opened in 1940. VMZ manufactures artillery and rocket ammunition, RPG-7 and SPG-9 rounds, unguided aircraft rockets, anti-tank guided missiles and fuzes. The company employs more than 4,100 people and reported record net sales of BGN 828 million in 2023 on NATO demand for Soviet-type ammunition.