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List of equipment of the Bolivian Armed Forces

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This is a list of modern military equipment currently in service with the Bolivian Armed Forces.

Infantry weapons

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This section contains mainly the infantry weapons of the Bolivian Army contingent, but also of the Bolivian Air Force and Bolivian Navy contingents, since they share some weapons. Consequently, the infantry weapons of the three branches of the Bolivian Armed Forces are regrouped in this section.

Pistols

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Name Origin Type Cartridge Image Details
FN35[1]  United States /
 Belgium
 Belgium 		Semi-automatic pistol 9×19 mm —
Makarov[1]  Soviet Union Semi-automatic pistol 9×18 mm —
Beretta Mod. 92F[1]  Italy Semi-automatic pistol 9×19 mm —
Taurus PT111  Brazil Semi-automatic pistol 9×19 mm Pistol preferred by Bolivian Army officers.[2]
Norinco[3]  China Semi-automatic pistol 9 mm — —
CZ[3]  Czech Republic Semi-automatic pistol 9 mm — —
IWI Jericho 941[1]  Israel Semi-automatic pistol 9×19 mm —
HK  West Germany  Germany Semi-automatic pistol 9 mm — The special forces of the Bolivian Army have been provided with an HK pistol.[1]
Beretta M9A3  United States /
 Italy 		Semi-automatic pistol 9×19 mm Pistols that were acquired in 2022 and distributed among the army, air force and navy.[4]

Submachine guns

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Name Origin Type Cartridge Image Details
MAT-49[1]  French Fourth Republic Submachine gun 9×19 mm —
Uzi[1]  Israel Submachine gun 9×19 mm —
Beretta[1]  Italy Submachine gun 9 mm — —
Taurus[1]  Brazil Submachine gun 9 mm — —
FMK-3[1][5]  Argentina Submachine gun 9×19 mm —
CZ Scorpion Evo 3 A1  Czech Republic Submachine gun 9×19 mm Submachine gun received by the army in 2019.[6]

Shotguns

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Name Origin Type Cartridge Image Details
Remington Model 870[1]  United States Shotgun 12 gauge —
Mossberg 500[7]  United States Shotgun 12 gauge —

Battle / assault rifle / carbines

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Name Origin Type Cartridge Image Details
FN FAL  Belgium Battle rifle 7.62×51 mm Used by regular army units. These rifles were repowered.[1][8]
AK-47[1]  Soviet Union Assault rifle 7.62×39 mm —
Type 56  China Assault rifle 7.62×39 mm Variant of the AK-47 rifle developed by Norinco. Used by regular army units and by the Bolivian Marine Corps.[8][9]
HK G3[1]  Germany Battle rifle 7.62×51 mm —
AR-15A1[1]  United States Assault rifle 5.56×45 mm —
M16A2[1]  United States Assault rifle 5.56×45 mm It is used by units of the regular army and the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.[1][8]
IMI Galil AR[1]  Israel Assault rifle 5.56×45 mm It is used by regular army units, by the Bolivian Marine Corps and by the Bolivian Air Force infantry.[7][8]
AK-74[1]  Soviet Union Assault rifle 5.45×39 mm It is also used by the Bolivian Marine Corps.[8]
SIG SG 540/540-1[1]   Switzerland Assault rifle 5.56×45 mm
7.62×51 mm 		—
Steyr AUG A1[1]  Austria Assault rifle / carbine 5.56×45 mm —
SA80[9]  United Kingdom Assault rifle 5.56×45 mm Used by special forces units.[10]
M4A3/A4[1]  United States Assault rifle / carbine 5.56×45 mm Also used by the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.[1]

Sniper and anti-materiel rifles

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Name Origin Type Cartridge Image Details
FAL Sniper[1]  Belgium Sniper rifle 7.62×51 mm —
Dragunov[1]  Soviet Union Designated marksman rifle / sniper rifle 7.62×54 mm —
NDM-86 Type 79[1][11]  China 7.62×54 mm A clone of the Dragunov rifle made by Norinco.[12]
Steyr SSG 69 P1[1]  Austria Sniper rifle 7.62×51 mm —
Accuracy International PM[1]  United Kingdom Sniper rifle 7.62×51 mm —
Steyr HS .50 M1  Austria Anti-materiel sniper rifle 12.7×99 mm Sniper and anti-materiel rifles acquired in 2019 for army, air force and navy special forces.[13][14][15][16]
Steyr SSG 04 A1  Austria Sniper rifle 7.62×51 mm

Machine guns

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Name Origin Type Cartridge Image Details
Browning M2HB[1]  United States Heavy machine gun 12.7×99 mm Also used by the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.[1]
RPD[8]  Soviet Union Light machine gun 7.62×39mm —
SIG MG 710-3[1]   Switzerland General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51 mm —
M60[1]  United States General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51 mm Also used by the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.[1]
HK21[1]  West Germany  Germany General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51 mm —
CS/LM3  China Heavy machine gun 12,7×99 mm — Norinco machine guns mounted on 27 Tigr 4x4 vehicles of Shaanxi Baoji Special Vehicles Co., Ltd. incorporated in 2016; in the troop transport variant, and distributed among the army, air force and navy.[17]

The 6 Chinese type 928 YC patrol boats incorporated in 2019 by the Bolivian Navy also mount these machine guns.[18]

FN MAG[1]  Belgium General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51 mm They are also used mounted on Toyota Hilux 4x4 pickup trucks; which were acquired in 2017.[19]

Grenade launchers

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Name Origin Type Cartridge Image Details
M79[1]  United States Grenade launcher 40×46 mm Also used by the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.[1]
MK 19 Mod 3  United States Automatic grenade launcher 40×53 mm It is used by the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.[1]
M203[citation needed]  United States Coupled grenade launcher 40×46 mm Also used by the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.[1]
QLZ-87[20]  China Automatic grenade launcher 35×32 mm —

Anti-material weapons

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Name Origin Type Cartridge Image Details
Type 65/78[8][21]  China Recoilless rifle 82 mm It is a variant of the B-10 recoilless rifle produced by Norinco.[22]
M40[8]  United States Recoilless rifle 106 mm —
RPG-7[8]  Soviet Union Rocket-propelled grenade 40 mm It is also used by the Bolivian Marine Corps.[8]
M72 LAW[8]  United States Rocket-propelled grenade 66 mm —
HJ-8[8][21]  China Anti-tank guided missile 155 mm —

Vehicles

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Armored combat vehicles

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Name Image Origin Quantity Notes
LT TK
SK-105A1 Kuerassier  Austria ~36 [23]
SK-105A2 Kuerassier ~18 [23]
RECCE
EE-9 Cascavel  Brazil ~24 [23]
APC
M113  United States 50+ [23]
M9 ~37 [23]
EE-11 Urutu  Brazil ~24 [23]
MOWAG Roland   Switzerland ~22 [23]
V-100 Commando  United States ~15 [23]
AUV
ZFB-05  China ~19 [23]

Utility vehicles

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Name Image Type Origin Quantity Status
Jeep CJ Utility vehicle  United States Unknown In service
M151[24] Utility vehicle  United States Unknown In service
Humvee Light utility vehicle  United States 30[25] In service
Trucks
GAZ Sadko Utility truck  Russia Unknown In service
Dodge M37 Utility truck  United States 37 In service
M35[24] Utility truck  United States Unknown In service
M54[24] Utility truck  United States Unknown In service
Ford F-750 Utility truck  United States 16 In service

Artillery

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Material used by the Bolivian Army. It will be specified in "details" if there is material from another branch of the Bolivian Armed Forces.

Mortars

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Name Origin Type Cartridge Image Details
M30[8]  United States Mortar 107 mm —
M29[8]  United States Mortar 81 mm —
M224[8]  United States Mortar 60 mm —
Soltam M120[26]  Israel Mortar 120 mm —

Howitzers

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Name Origin Type Cartridge Image Details
Schneider L.15.05 model 1928  French Third Republic Towed howitzer 155 mm 16 units donated by the Argentine Army in 1976, which correspond to an Argentine modernization of the howitzer Schneider model 1917.[26]
Bofors L40 Mod. 1935  Sweden Mountain gun 75 mm Undetermined number of units donated by the Argentine Army.[26]
M116[26]  United States Pack howitzer 75 mm —
M101A1[26]  United States Towed howitzer 105 mm —
Type 54-1[21][26]  China Towed howitzer 122 mm Improved variant of the howitzer M-30 developed by Norinco.[27]

Air defense systems

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Name Origin Type Cartridge Image Details
Type 64/74[8][21]  China Anti-aircraft gun 37 mm —
HN-5A[8][21][28]  China MANPADS 72 mm It is also used by the Bolivian Air Force.[8]

37 of these missiles belonging to the Bolivian Army were brought to the United States in 2005 for dismantling, creating a controversial case within the Bolivian Armed Forces. In 2010, some missiles that were already deactivated were returned to the army.[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Grupo Edefa (2020). "Anuario Latinoamericano de la Defensa 2020". Bolivia. Anuario Latinoamericano de la Defensa (in Spanish): 92–95.
  2. ^ Ríos, Luzmila (28 November 2019). "Bolivia en estado de 'shock': a una semana de la masacre de Senkata". elsaltodiario.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b Aránguiz, Óscar E. (9 September 2021). "Carabineros de Chile detiene a tres militares bolivianos en el territorio nacional". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  4. ^ Hernández, Carlos E. (20 May 2022). "Bolivia dota a sus Fuerzas Armadas de un millar de pistolas Beretta M9A3 y sables". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  5. ^ Suciu, Peter (12 September 2020). "The Domestically Produced Argentinean Submachine Gun: The FMK-3". nationalinterest.org. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  6. ^ Hernández, Carlos E. (27 May 2019). "Bolivia dota de armamento y otros equipos a sus tropas de frontera". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b Gullo, Emiliano; Bertoia, Luciana; Ortega, Sebastián N.; Mena, Paúl; Paredes, Iván (8 June 2022). "La ruta de las armas a Bolivia". revistaanfibia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Especial Bolivia". Tecnología Militar (in Spanish). No. 3. 2018. pp. 4–17. ISSN 0722-2904.
  9. ^ a b Hernández, Carlos E. (9 March 2017). "Bolivia posterga la compra de fusiles en favor de simuladores de tiro". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  10. ^ Johnson, Steve (31 December 2012). "SA80 in Bolivia". thefirearmblog.com. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  11. ^ FirearmsWorld (17 February 2015). "Firearmsworld.net" 79/85式狙击步枪 (in Chinese). firearmsworld.net. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  12. ^ "SVD". weaponsystems.net. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  13. ^ Hernández, Carlos E. (1 March 2019). "El Ejército de Bolivia dota a sus unidades con rifles de precisión Steyr HS .50 M1". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  14. ^ Hernández, Carlos E. (16 March 2019). "Steyr entrega una nueva partida de 50 fusiles al Ejército de Bolivia". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  15. ^ Hernández, Carlos E. (8 April 2019). "Bolivia dota a sus comandos anfibios de fusiles de precisión Steyr". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Gobierno entrega fusiles de precisión y antimateria a unidades de élite de las FFAA". opinion.com.bo (in Spanish). 7 March 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  17. ^ Hernández, Carlos E. (9 August 2016). "China donará a Bolivia material militar por un valor de 30.000.000 de dólares". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  18. ^ "La Armada de Bolivia incorpora seis patrulleras chinas tipo 928 YC". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). 21 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  19. ^ Hernández, Carlos E. (10 January 2017). "Bolivia refuerza sus fronteras con vehículos armados y sistemas de comunicaciones". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  20. ^ Smallwood, Michael (29 April 2016). "Kurdish Forces with Chinese QLZ87 Automatic Grenade Launcher & M99 Anti-materiel Rifle". Small Arms Defense Journal. Vol. 8, no. 1.
  21. ^ a b c d e Hernández, Carlos E. (17 June 2022). "Norinco ofrece a Bolivia servicios de mantenimiento para equipo pesado". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  22. ^ "B-10". weaponsystems.net. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i International Institute for Strategic Studies (February 13, 2024). The Military Balance 2024 (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 415. ISBN 978-1032780047.
  24. ^ a b c "Annex C Appendix II". US Army Technical Manual of Foreign Military Sales: Battlefield Damage Assessment and Repair (PDF). Washington, D.C. 18 December 1987. p. 262. TM 9-2320-356-BD. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2013.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  25. ^ 2011 Army Weapon Systems Handbook (PDF) (Report). Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. 2011. p. 137. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  26. ^ a b c d e f Hernández, Carlos E. (21 November 2022). "Obuses remolcados y morteros pesados, pilares de la Artillería de Bolivia". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  27. ^ "M-30". weaponsystems.net. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  28. ^ a b Hernández, Carlos E. (5 September 2017). "Más de 20 años de cárcel para los implicados en el caso de los misiles chinos". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 August 2023.
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