[Balkan Shield 2026] Bosnian Zupčanik Presents New Grenade Launchers
Earlier this month, the Bosnian defense industry came together for the first time at the Balkan Shield exhibition in Sarajevo. And if you look closer at the participants of the event, there will be two distinct categories of companies there.
The first category is industry giants founded by the Yugoslavian state sixty or even seventy years ago, often right after World War II. Some of those factories did not survive the collapse of Yugoslavia and the subsequent Bosnian War, but many still exist and remain the property of the state. Naturally, those companies get state support and often rely on existing technology and equipment they had for generations.
And there is a second category - private companies that were founded in recent years and try to build production capacity from scratch. Apart from AC-Unity, another good example of such a company is Zupčanik, which presented two grenade launchers they developed: a modern version of the RPG-7 and a 40x46 mm single-shot grenade launcher.
The RPG-7 they showcased features Picatinny rails, but the main difference from the ‘Soviet classic’ is the manufacturing technology. Zupčanik’s RPG ‘barrel’ is forged, not welded together from components, which makes it more durable and helps it withstand higher pressures.
At the exhibition, the company also presented its 40x46 mm single-shot grenade launcher with a rifled barrel, Picatinny rails, an M-LOK handguard, and an adjustable stock.
While Bosnia has a large factory called Binas Bugojno, which manufactures and exports different types of 40x46 and 40x53 ammunition, there is no information about local production of 40x46 grenade launchers.
According to the owner of Zupčanik, Mirso Hajrić, for this grenade launcher, he developed proprietary machine for vertical button rifling, which allows him to manufacture barrels in-house, reducing cost and production time. He also mentioned that the grenade launcher was already tested at the Binas factory.
The example of Zupčanik shows once again that small private companies are generally more adaptive compared to big factories, and soon the Bosnian defense industry will be able to offer both the weapon chambered in 40x46 and ammunition for it.
Vladimir Onokoy is a small arms subject matter expert and author of "From Balkans to Babylon: Zastava AKs of Yugoslavia, Serbia, and Iraq", the first English-language book about the history of M70 and Tabuk AKs. Over the years he worked in over 20 different countries as a security contractor, armorer, field analyst, product manager, and consultant. His articles were published in Recoil magazine, Small Arms Review, Small Arms Defense Journal, Overt Defense and Silah Report. He also worked as the historical consultant for movies and weapon history books, namely "Vickers Guide: Kalashnikov" series, and Ian McColum's "Small Arms of WW2: Soviet Union". You can contact him here vonokoybooks@proton.me
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Airtronic must be blushing.