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State-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...

, traded_as = , ISIN = , industry =

Arms industry The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and servi ...

, genre = , fate = , predecessor = , successor = , founded = 1957 , founder = , defunct = , hq_location =

Thanh Hóa Thanh Hóa () is the capital of Thanh Hóa Province. The city is situated in the east of the province on the Ma River (Sông Mã), about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Hanoi and 1560 kilometers (969 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh City. Thanh ...

, hq_location_city = Thanh Hóa Province , hq_location_country =

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, num_locations = , num_locations_year = , area_served =

, key_people = , products = , brands = , production = , production_year = , services = , revenue = , revenue_year = , operating_income = , income_year = , net_income = , net_income_year = , aum = , assets = , assets_year = , equity = , equity_year = , owner = Vietnamese Ministry of Defence , members = , members_year = , num_employees = , num_employees_year = , parent = , divisions = , subsid = , module = , ratio = , rating = , website = http://ck11.vn/en , footnotes = The Z111 Factory ( vi, Nhà máy Z111), formally registered as the 11 Precise Mechanical One Member Liability Company () is a state-owned small arms factory located in Thanh Hoá,

. The Z111 Factory was built in 1957, and was originally called "Z1 Factory". A part of this factory named Factory 1 was built by the Israeli firearms company, Israel Weapon Industries (IWI). It is wholly owned by the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence, and the factory produces arms for the People's Army of Vietnam.

History

Built in 1957 under the name "Z1 Factory", the factory became a cradle of the small arms industry in Vietnam. Z1 factory specialized in producing small arms for the

Vietnam People's Army Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

during the Vietnam War, and created locally modified firearms for its army, such as the

K-50M The PPSh-41 () is a Soviet submachine gun designed by Georgy Shpagin as a cheaper and simplified alternative to the PPD-40. A common Russian nickname for the weapon is "''papasha''" (), meaning "daddy", and it was sometimes called the "burp gun" ...

submachine gun based on the PPSh-41 and

MAT-49 The MAT-49 is a submachine gun which was developed by French arms factory Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) for use by the French Army and was first produced in 1949. Development In 1949, after evaluating several prototypes (including ...

. One of the weapons to come from the Z111 Factory is the M18, reconditioned since 2010 from XM177E2s seized during the Vietnam War. They are known to be used by Vietnamese special forces personnel and officers from the

Vietnam Coast Guard Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG, ; formerly Vietnam Marine Police (VMP) prior to October 2013) is the coast guard of Vietnam. Until 2013, it was a branch of Vietnam's military, the Vietnam People's Army, and falls under the management of the Vietname ...

due to its compact size. On February 3, 2014, IWI entered into an agreement with Vietnam to produce the

IWI ACE The IWI Galil ACE is a series of assault rifles and battle rifles originally developed and manufactured by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI). It is produced in three different calibers: 5.56×45mm NATO, 7.62×39mm and 7.62×51mm NATO. IWI USA ...

under license. Production was made in a joint production facility. An improved version of the K-54 pistol is locally produced under the name of "K14-VN". They are upgraded with an increased capacity of 13 rounds, and a wider grip to incorporate a

double stack magazine A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridges withi ...

. Research and development started in 2001. The K14-VN began to see service with PAVN forces on May 10, 2014. In 2015, the Z111 Factory announced that they would produce the new STL-1A rifle. This would mainly be done through converting and upgrading the old

AKM The AKM () is an assault rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1959. It is the most ubiquitous rifle of the Kalashnikov rifles. It was developed as a replacement to the AK-47 introduced a decade prior. Introduc ...

s under the new name, but they would also produce entirely new STL-1A rifles. The updated rifle included: New

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

handguards, a folding buttstock, a new ergonomic pistol grip, and an updated muzzle brake similar to those found on the

AK-74 The AK-74 (Russian: , tr. ''Avtomat Kalashnikova obraztsa 1974 goda'', lit. 'Kalashnikov assault rifle model 1974) is an assault rifle designed by small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1974. While primarily associated with the Soviet U ...

. A notable change was that it also allowed the use of

M203 grenade launcher The M203 is a single-shot 40 mm under-barrel grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older stand-alone M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilizes the high-low propulsion system to keep recoil force ...

s that are also being produced in Vietnam, replacing the GP-25/GP-34 grenade launchers on the original AKMs. The rifle however, still uses the dovetail side-mount for attaching sights. Overall, the rifle highly resembles an

AK-103 The AK-103 is a Russian assault rifle designed by small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov. History The AK-103 was officially offered for export in March 1993 Design details It is an AK-100 derivative of the AK-74M that is chambered for th ...

. In January 2018, the

OSV-96 OSV-96 (Russian: ОСВ-96) is a Russian heavy semi-automatic precision rifle chambered for the 12.7×108mm. Description The rifle is capable of engaging infantry at a distance of up to 1800 meters and can combat material targets at ranges u ...

was reported to be made under license in Vietnam.https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/01/22/vietnam-locally-produce-osv-96-anti-material-rifle In 2019, the factory revealed the new

STV Rifles The STV rifle, short for ''Súng Trường Việt Nam'' () or ''Súng Tiểu liên Việt Nam'' (), is a family of Vietnamese assault rifles. They are products of the Z111 Factory and are chambered in 7.62x39mm. As of 2021, the STV-215 and the S ...

. They are the STV-215, and the STV-380. Both of them were designated to be the new standard issued rifles for the

IWI Jericho 941 The Jericho 941 is a double-action/single-action semi-automatic pistol developed by Israel Military Industries (now Israel Weapon Industries) introduced in 1990. It was first imported into the United States in 1990 by K.B.I., Inc. of Harrisbur ...

pistols were also reported being manufactured. In 2020, the factory revealed two more variants of the STV rifles, called the STV-410 and the STV-416.

Products

Notes

References

{{coord missing, Vietnam Military installations of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Buildings and structures in Thanh Hóa province Defence companies of Vietnam Manufacturing plants Vietnamese companies established in 1957 Government-owned companies of Vietnam

History

Products

See also

Notes

References