Ukraine to start production of NATO rifles CZ BREN 2 under Czech license
CZ BREN 2 – is a modern model of assault rifle, which is already actively used in the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Ukrainian Defense Industry JSC announced the signing of an agreement with Czech company Česká zbrojovka a.s. on the licensed production of modern small arms.
This is an assault rifle in NATO caliber CZ BREN 2 (also known as CZ BREN 806), which is in service with the Czech army itself and was also actively supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
It should be noted that there were already detailed discussions about this as early as the fall of 2023, when the Czech Ministry of Defense officially announced the start of negotiations. At that time, it was not only about the CZ BREN 2, which had already been announced with the localized name Sich, but also about the creation of a Sellier & Bellot cartridge production line, localization of Tatra production, and the manufacture of polymeric shells.
It should be noted that when it comes to Česká zbrojovka a.s., it should be borne in mind that this is the main company of the Česká zbrojovka Group, which is a huge player in the small arms market and bought the American Colt in 2021. That is why the current name of the conglomerate is Colt CZ Group SE.
The history of the CZ BREN dates back to the 2000s, when this assault rifle was created to replace the vz. 58 – a Czech machine gun from the Warsaw Pact. In 2010, the first version of the assault rifle beat the FN SCAR-L in a competition held by the Czech Ministry of Defense. The second version of CZ BREN appeared in 2015 as a result of an analysis of the combat operation of weapons in the army.
In general, the CZ BREN 2 is a classic modern small arms model, using a short-stroke automatic piston with a bolt action. The extensive use of aluminum alloys and impact-resistant plastics has reduced the weight of the assault rifle to 3.1 kg.
Other features include three firing modes: single, automatic, and two-shot burst. Of course, such things as modularity, slats for placing additional equipment, adaptation for left-handed people, chrome barrel do not require additional clarification, as they are simply basic things in modern weapons.
Based on the CZ BREN 2, there are various subtypes of the assault rifle itself with different barrel lengths and calibers, ranging from the short 5.56×45 version with an 8-inch barrel to the maximized CZ BREN 2 PPS version in 7.62×51 with an 18-inch barrel.
It is also worth noting that in addition to the Czech armed forces, the Hungarian army began using CZ BREN 2 in 2018, where it beat the Polish Grot in the competition. Another condition of the tender was licensed production, which was implemented at HM Arzenal’s facilities. Thus, this is not the first experience of mass sales of CZ BREN 2 under license for the Czech Republic.
