List of equipment of the Bolivian Armed Forces explained

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

Infantry weapons

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

NameOriginTypeCartridgeImageDetails
FN35[1] /
Semi-automatic pistol—
MakarovSemi-automatic pistol—
Beretta Mod. 92FSemi-automatic pistol9×19 mm —
Taurus PT111Semi-automatic pistol9×19 mm Pistol preferred by Bolivian Army officers.[2]
Norinco[3] Semi-automatic pistol9 mm ——
CZSemi-automatic pistol9 mm ——
IWI Jericho 941Semi-automatic pistol9×19 mm —
HKSemi-automatic pistol9 mm —The special forces of the Bolivian Army have been provided with an HK pistol.
Beretta M9A3 /
Semi-automatic pistol9×19 mm Pistols that were acquired in 2022 and distributed among the army, air force and navy.[4]

Submachine guns

NameOriginTypeCartridgeImageDetails
MAT-49Submachine gun—
UziSubmachine gun9×19 mm —
Submachine gun9 mm ——
Submachine gun9 mm ——
FMK-3[5] Submachine gun9×19 mm —
CZ Scorpion Evo 3 A1Submachine gun9×19 mm Submachine gun received by the army in 2019.[6]

Shotguns

NameOriginTypeCartridgeImageDetails
Remington Model 870Shotgun12 gauge—
Mossberg 500[7] Shotgun12 gauge—

Battle / assault rifle / carbines

NameOriginTypeCartridgeImageDetails
FN FALBattle rifleUsed by regular army units. These rifles were repowered.[8]
AK-47Assault rifle—
Type 56Assault rifle7.62×39 mm Variant of the AK-47 rifle developed by Norinco. Used by regular army units and by the Bolivian Marine Corps.[9]
HK G3Battle rifle7.62×51 mm—
AR-15A1Assault rifle5.56×45 mm—
M16A2Assault rifle5.56×45 mm It is used by units of the regular army and the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.
IMI Galil ARAssault rifle5.56×45 mm It is used by regular army units, by the Bolivian Marine Corps and by the Bolivian Air Force infantry.
AK-74Assault rifle5.45×39 mmIt is also used by the Bolivian Marine Corps.
SIG SG 540/540-1Assault rifle5.56×45 mm----7.62×51 mm—
Steyr AUG A1Assault rifle / carbine5.56×45 mm—
SA80Assault rifle5.56×45 mmUsed by special forces units.[10]
M4A3/A4Assault rifle / carbine 5.56×45 mm Also used by the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.

Sniper and anti-materiel rifles

NameOriginTypeCartridgeImageDetails
FAL SniperSniper rifle—
DragunovDesignated marksman rifle / sniper rifle—
NDM-86 Type 79[11] 7.62×54 mm A clone of the Dragunov rifle made by Norinco.[12]
Steyr SSG 69 P1Sniper rifle7.62×51 mm —
Accuracy International PMSniper rifle7.62×51 mm —
Steyr HS .50 M1Anti-materiel sniper rifle12.7×99 mmSniper and anti-materiel rifles acquired in 2019 for army, air force and navy special forces.[13] [14] [15] [16]
Steyr SSG 04 A1Sniper rifle7.62×51 mm

Machine guns

NameOriginTypeCartridgeImageDetails
Browning M2HBHeavy machine gunAlso used by the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.
RPDLight machine gun—
SIG MG 710-3General-purpose machine gun7.62×51 mm —
M60General-purpose machine gun7.62×51 mm Also used by the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.
HK21General-purpose machine gun7.62×51 mm —
CS/LM3Heavy machine gun12,7×99 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 MAGGeneral-purpose machine gun7.62×51 mm They are also used mounted on Toyota Hilux 4x4 pickup trucks; which were acquired in 2017.[19]

Grenade launchers

NameOriginTypeCartridgeImageDetails
M79Grenade launcher40×46 mmAlso used by the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.
MK 19 Mod 3Automatic grenade launcher40×53 mmIt is used by the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.
M203[20] Coupled grenade launcher 40×46 mmAlso used by the special forces of the Bolivian Navy.
QLZ-87[21] Automatic grenade launcher35×32 mm —

Anti-material weapons

NameOriginTypeCartridgeImageDetails
Type 65/78[22] Recoilless rifle82 mmIt is a variant of the B-10 recoilless rifle produced by Norinco.[23]
M40Recoilless rifle106 mm—
RPG-7Rocket-propelled grenade40 mmIt is also used by the Bolivian Marine Corps.
M72 LAWRocket-propelled grenade66 mm—
HJ-8Anti-tank guided missile155 mm—

Vehicles

Armored combat vehicles

NameImageOriginQuantityNotes
LT TK
SK-105A1 Kuerassier~36[24]
~18
RECCE
EE-9 Cascavel~24
APC
M11350+
M9~37
EE-11 Urutu~24
MOWAG Roland~22
V-100 Commando~15
AUV
ZFB-05~19

Utility vehicles

width=14%Namewidth=20%Imagewidth=14%Typewidth=12%Originwidth=10%Quantitywidth=06%Status
Jeep CJUtility vehicleUnknownIn service
M151[25] Utility vehicleUnknownIn service
HumveeLight utility vehicle30[26] In service
Trucks
GAZ SadkoUtility truckUnknownIn service
Dodge M37Utility truck37In service
M35[27] Utility truckUnknownIn service
M54Utility truckUnknownIn service
Ford F-750Utility truck16In service

Artillery

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

NameOriginTypeCartridgeImageDetails
M30Mortar107 mm—
M29Mortar81 mm—
M224Mortar60 mm—
Soltam M120[28] Mortar120 mm—

Howitzers

NameOriginTypeCartridgeImageDetails
Schneider L.15.05 model 1928Towed howitzer155 mm16 units donated by the Argentine Army in 1976, which correspond to an Argentine modernization of the howitzer Schneider model 1917.
Bofors L40 Mod. 1935Mountain gun75 mmUndetermined number of units donated by the Argentine Army.
M116Pack howitzer75 mm—
M101A1Towed howitzer105 mm—
Type 54-1Towed howitzer122 mmImproved variant of the howitzer M-30 developed by Norinco.[29]

Air defense systems

NameOriginTypeCartridgeImageDetails
Type 64/74Anti-aircraft gun37 mm—
HN-5A[30] MANPADS72 mmIt is also used by the Bolivian Air Force.

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.

Notes and References

  1. Grupo Edefa . 2020 . Anuario Latinoamericano de la Defensa 2020 . Bolivia . es . Anuario Latinoamericano de la Defensa . 92–95.
  2. Web site: Bolivia en estado de 'shock': a una semana de la masacre de Senkata . Ríos . Luzmila . 28 November 2019 . elsaltodiario.com . es . 31 July 2023.
  3. Web site: Carabineros de Chile detiene a tres militares bolivianos en el territorio nacional . Aránguiz . Óscar E. . 9 September 2021 . infodefensa.com . es . 31 July 2023.
  4. Web site: Bolivia dota a sus Fuerzas Armadas de un millar de pistolas Beretta M9A3 y sables . Hernández . Carlos E. . 20 May 2022 . infodefensa.com . es . 31 July 2023.
  5. Web site: Suciu . Peter . 12 September 2020 . The Domestically Produced Argentinean Submachine Gun: The FMK-3 . 21 March 2022 . nationalinterest.org . en.
  6. Web site: Bolivia dota de armamento y otros equipos a sus tropas de frontera . Hernández . Carlos E. . 27 May 2019 . infodefensa.com . es . 31 July 2023.
  7. Web site: La ruta de las armas a Bolivia . Gullo . Emiliano . Bertoia . Luciana . Ortega . Sebastián N. . Mena . Paúl . Paredes . Iván . 8 June 2022 . revistaanfibia.com . es . 1 August 2023.
  8. 2018 . Especial Bolivia . es . Tecnología Militar . 3 . 4–17 . 0722-2904.
  9. Web site: Bolivia posterga la compra de fusiles en favor de simuladores de tiro . Hernández . Carlos E. . 9 March 2017 . infodefensa.com . es . 31 July 2023.
  10. Web site: SA80 in Bolivia . Johnson . Steve . 31 December 2012 . thefirearmblog.com . en . 31 July 2023.
  11. Web site: FirearmsWorld . Firearmsworld.net . zh:79/85式狙击步枪 . firearmsworld.net . 17 February 2015 . 8 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170723014943/http://firearmsworld.net/china/sr/79-85sr/79-85sr.htm . 23 July 2017 . live . zh.
  12. Web site: SVD . weaponsystems.net . en . 2 August 2023.
  13. Web site: El Ejército de Bolivia dota a sus unidades con rifles de precisión Steyr HS .50 M1 . Hernández . Carlos E. . 1 March 2019 . infodefensa.com . es . 31 July 2023.
  14. Web site: Steyr entrega una nueva partida de 50 fusiles al Ejército de Bolivia . Hernández . Carlos E. . 16 March 2019 . infodefensa.com . es . 31 July 2023.
  15. Web site: Bolivia dota a sus comandos anfibios de fusiles de precisión Steyr . Hernández . Carlos E. . 8 April 2019 . infodefensa.com . es . 1 August 2023.
  16. Web site: Gobierno entrega fusiles de precisión y antimateria a unidades de élite de las FFAA . 7 March 2019 . opinion.com.bo . es . 2 August 2023.
  17. Web site: China donará a Bolivia material militar por un valor de 30.000.000 de dólares . Hernández . Carlos E. . 9 August 2016 . infodefensa.com . es . 31 July 2023.
  18. Web site: La Armada de Bolivia incorpora seis patrulleras chinas tipo 928 YC . 21 August 2019 . infodefensa.com . es . 1 August 2023.
  19. Web site: Bolivia refuerza sus fronteras con vehículos armados y sistemas de comunicaciones . Hernández . Carlos E. . 10 January 2017 . infodefensa.com . es . 31 July 2023.
  20. Web site: 밀짤 게시판 . http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=byulbyul7070&logNo=130188071289. ko:볼리비아군 사진들 . naver.com . 24 March 2014 . 8 August 2017 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180508194843/http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=byulbyul7070&logNo=130188071289 . 8 May 2018 . ko.
  21. Kurdish Forces with Chinese QLZ87 Automatic Grenade Launcher & M99 Anti-materiel Rifle . Small Arms Defense Journal . 8 . 1 . 29 April 2016 . Michael . Smallwood .
  22. Web site: Norinco ofrece a Bolivia servicios de mantenimiento para equipo pesado . Hernández . Carlos E. . 17 June 2022 . infodefensa.com . es . 10 August 2023.
  23. Web site: B-10 . weaponsystems.net . en . 10 August 2023.
  24. Book: International Institute for Strategic Studies . International Institute for Strategic Studies . The Military Balance 2024 . February 13, 2024 . Routledge . 978-1032780047 . 1st . 415.
  25. Book: Annex C Appendix II. US Army Technical Manual of Foreign Military Sales: Battlefield Damage Assessment and Repair. TM 9-2320-356-BD. Washington, D.C.. 18 December 1987. 262. 15 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120904154546/http://imfmotorpool.com/063247.PDF. 4 September 2012. live.
  26. 2011 . 2011 Army Weapon Systems Handbook . . 137 . 27 December 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120905092140/http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/wsh2011/136.pdf . 5 September 2012 . live.
  27. Book: Annex C Appendix II. US Army Technical Manual of Foreign Military Sales: Battlefield Damage Assessment and Repair. TM 9-2320-356-BD. Washington, D.C.. 18 December 1987. 262. 15 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120904154546/http://imfmotorpool.com/063247.PDF. 4 September 2012. live.
  28. Web site: Obuses remolcados y morteros pesados, pilares de la Artillería de Bolivia . Hernández . Carlos E. . 21 November 2022 . infodefensa.com . es . 10 August 2023.
  29. Web site: M-30 . weaponsystems.net . en . 10 August 2023.
  30. Web site: Más de 20 años de cárcel para los implicados en el caso de los misiles chinos . Hernández . Carlos E. . 5 September 2017 . infodefensa.com . es . 11 August 2023.

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