Gafat Armament Engineering Complex is one of the military production facilities of the
Metals and Engineering Corporation
METEC (acronym for Metals and Engineering Corporation) is an Ethiopian arms and machinery industry founded in 2010. Being the state largest military industrial complex, it is responsible for the production of military equipment and civilian pro ...
.
With its headquarters in
Bishoftu
Bishoftu (; ) is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the East Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, it sits at an elevation of 1,920 metres (6,300 ft). It was formerly known as Debre Zeyit () however since the late 1990s it has been officially k ...
, it specializes in producing wide range of infantry equipment that meet the requirement of the
Ethiopian National Defense Force
The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) ( am, የኢፌዲሪ መከላከያ ሠራዊት, Ye’īfēdērī mekelakeya šerawīt, lit=FDRE Defense Force) is the military force of Ethiopia. Civilian control of the military is carried out t ...
.
History
It was established in January 1986 as the Gafat Engineering Factory to fulfill the need for local manufacture of basic infantry equipment. It initially produced
AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...
automatic rifles and light machine guns, as well as maintenance. It was later expanded to manufacture
PK machine gun
The PK (russian: Пулемёт Калашникова, transliterated as ''Pulemyot Kalashnikova'', or "Kalashnikov's machine gun"), is a belt-fed general-purpose machine gun, chambered for the 7.62×54mmR rimmed cartridge.
Designed in the ...
s, and automatic weapons attached on armoured vehicles and helicopters.
To fully utilize its manufacturing capacity, the complex has diversified by supplying various items for civilian use.
It is often believed that North Korean advisors assisted with manufacturing of small arms.
Products
Military products include: various types of automatic rifles and machine guns; 40mm grenade launchers; various types of guns such as hand guns, strike dispensing guns, etc.; and sniper scopes.
Civilian products include: various plastic products; various products for different industries in construction; and various kitchen wares and household utensils.
See also
*
Gafat people
The Gafat (Amharic: ጋፋት) are an extinct ethnic group that once inhabited present day western Ethiopia. They spoke the Gafat language, an extinct South Ethiopic grouping within the Semitic subfamily of the Afroasiatic languages and closely ...
, an extinct ethnic group that historically provided military support to the Ethiopian
Solomonic dynasty
The Solomonic dynasty, also known as the House of Solomon, was the ruling dynasty of the Ethiopian Empire formed in the thirteenth century. Its members claim lineal descent from the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Tradition asserts ...
*
Sebastopol
Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...
, a cannon produced in the Gafat foundry northeast of
Debre Tabor, set up by
Tewodros II to manufacture modern arms
References
FDRE Defence Industry, May 2008
Military industrial facilities of Ethiopia
Oromia Region
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