, type =

State-owned company A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

, industry =

Firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

, Defense,

Machinery A machine is a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecul ...

, fate = , successor = , founded = , founder = , defunct = , hq_location_city = Wah Cantonment,

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, hq_location_country =

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, area_served = worldwide , key_people = *(Director General)

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. Muhammad Ali Khan, HI(M) , products =

Pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, ...

s, Rifles, Submachine gun, Machine gun,

Shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub- p ...

Munition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weapo ...

Explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

Machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, boring, grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. All ...

s , revenue = , revenue_year = , operating_income = , net_income = , owner = Pakistan Ministry of Defence , num_employees = >27,000 , num_employees_year = , homepage
www.pof.gov.pk
, footnotes = The Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) is a major

firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

contractor A contractor is a person or company that performs work on a contract basis. The term may refer to: Business roles * Defense contractor, arms industry which provides weapons or military goods to a government * General contractor, an individual o ...

, and military corporation headquartered in

Wah Cantt Wah Cantonment ( pa, ; ur, ) (often abbreviated to Wah Cantt) is a military cantonment located in Wah in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is a part of Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District. It is the 24th largest city of Pakistan by pop ...

, Pakistan. It is "the largest defence industrial complex under the Ministry of Defence Production, producing conventional arms & ammo to international standards. POF Board headquarter is at Wah Cantt. Presently POF 14 ordnance factories and three commercial subsidiaries. Pakistan Ordnance Factories also manufacture commercial explosives, hunting ammunition and possess extensive facilities for the manufacture of brass, copper and aluminum ingots, extrusions and sections for non-military applications. A garments factory, which has modern cloth cutting facilities, stitching units etc manufactures military uniforms and can also cater for the needs of the civil sector". POF was founded in December 1951 by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

of Pakistan with early collaboration from the British Royal Ordnance Factory. The POF engineers, develops, produces, manufactures, and promotes a wide range of different types of infantry and special-purpose

weapons A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weapo ...

, mortars,

rockets A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entire ...

, and the military gear for Pakistan's

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

. Its corporate leadership comes from a deputation by GHQ where the

chief of army staff Chief of Army Staff or Chief of the Army Staff which is generally abbreviated as COAS is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies. * Chief of Army (Australia ...

(COAS) approves the appointment, but POF is under the

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

, so the COAS is not in the direct

chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Mili ...

. The POF is the earliest and one of the largest military corporations in Pakistan, and later influenced many other military corporations in the

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...

. POF produces ammunition that meets requirements set by NATO specification. Apart from military works, the POF also serves the civilian

law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

, Civil Armed Forces, and private security markets nationwide.

History

During their colonial rule, the British built sixteen ordnance factories in the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

, most of which were inherited by India.

's first Prime Minister,

Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theorist ...

, issued a directive within four months of the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the s ...

of Pakistan to establish an ordnance factory in collaboration with British Royal Ordnance Factory to manufacture 0.303 calibre rifles. In December 1951 Pakistan's second Prime Minister, Khawaja Nazimuddin, inaugurated the first four POF workshops in the small town of Wah Cantonment.

Background

Located 45 km from

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capita ...

and with main manufacturing facilities at Wah Cantonment, POF is a sprawling complex of fourteen production units and six subsidiaries producing conventional arms and ammunition. Research and development projects have been undertaken to minimise dependence on foreign suppliers. Efforts have been made towards self-reliance through innovation and indigenisation, for achieving the following:- 1. Optimal utilisation of surplus capacity of POF.
2. Generation of funds to supplement budget grant.
3. Participative collaboration with the private sector.
4. Enhancing exports. POF uses technology and equipment that has been acquired from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and China. The factories in POF employ some of the latest state of the art processes, including computerised numerical controlled machines and flexible Manufacturing systems for the production of precision components. A Stamp was also issued by Pakistan Post on the occasion of golden jubilee of POF (Dt. 28 December 2001) to honour the country's largest defence manufacturing unit's services. POF has been awarded standards by the

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Ar ...

. These include

ISO 9001 The ISO 9000 family is a set of five quality management systems (QMS) standards that help organizations ensure they meet customer and other stakeholder needs within statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service. ISO ...

for quality management,

ISO 14001 ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes, etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water, or land); (b) ...

for environmental management, and ISO 17025 for meeting the general requirements for Competence of Test and Calibration Laboratories. In 2005, P.O.F was also awarded with safety and health environment standard OHSAS 18001. During a visit to POF, Prime Minister

Shaukat Aziz Shaukat Aziz ( ur, ; born 6 March 1949) is a Pakistani former banker and financier who served as 17th prime minister of Pakistan from 28 August 2004 to 15 November 2007, as well as the finance minister of Pakistan from 6 November 1999 to 1 ...

made the following tribute: :"POF is an island of excellence for Pakistan. POF and its employees have played a critical and valuable role in bolstering Pakistan’s defence. We are all proud of what you have achieved. I wish you continued success in the future."

Products

POF produce approximately 70 major products for supply to the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

. The main products include

automatic rifle An automatic rifle is a type of autoloading rifle that is capable of fully automatic fire. Automatic rifles are generally select-fire weapons capable of firing in semi-automatic and automatic firing modes (some automatic rifles are capable o ...

s, light/medium/heavy machine guns, a wide range of mortar and artillery ammunition, aircraft and anti-aircraft ammunition, tank and anti-tank ammunition,

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

s, grenades, land mines,

pyrotechnics Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating such things as fireworks, safety matches, oxygen candles, Pyrotechnic fastener, explosive bolts and other fasteners, parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, quarry ...

, small ammunition, rockets, military & commercial explosives & propellants and signal stores.

Ammunition

Anti-aircraft & aircraft ammunition

* 12.7x99 mm NATO * 12.7x108 mm Soviet * 14.5x114 mm Soviet * 20 mm phalanx * 23 mm * 30 mm * 35 mm * 37 mm * 57 mm * Bomb HE AC 500 lb (250 kg) * Bomb HE AC 1000 lb (500 kg)

Anti-tank & tank ammunition

* 40 mm (RPG-7P/7AP) * 73 mm (SPG-9) * 100 mm * 105 mm * 106 mm * 125 mm * Tungsten alloy penetrators & rods

Artillery ammunition

* 88 mm howitzer * 105 mm howitzer * 122 mm howitzer * 130 mm howitzer * 155 mm howitzer * 203 mm howitzer

Anti-submarine ammunition

* Depth charge Mark II Mod 3

Military explosives and Propellants

* Artillery ammunition propellants * Mortar and rocket ammunition propellants * Small arms propellants * Explosives * Pyrotechnics

Grenades

* ARGES 84 P2A1: Fragmentation grenade * Discharger P3 MK1: Smoke discharge/grenade * Target Indication MK2: Targeting smoke grenade * Fuzes, Detonators & Primers * Demolition Stores

Mortars

* 60 mm mortar/smoke/illuminating signal * 81 mm mortar/smoke/illuminating signal * 120 mm mortar/smoke

Rockets

* 122 mm YARMUK Rocket

Small arms ammunition

* 9x19mm Parabellum * 5.56×45mm NATO * 7.62×39mm Soviet * 7.62×51mm NATO * 7.62×54mmR Soviet * 12 Bore Shaheen Cartridges MP4 a and G3 produced at POF WAH under licensed

MP4 a and G3 produced at POF WAH under licensed

Infantry weapons

Pistols

* POF-X – 9 mm calibre pistol * POF-4 – 9 mm calibre pistol (Semi-auto version of SMG-PK) * POF-5 – 9 mm calibre pistol (Semi-auto version of HK MP5)

Sub-machine guns

* HK MP5 – 9 mm calibre sub-machine gun produced under license. Variants produced: MP5A2, MP5P3. * SMG-PK – 9 mm calibre compact machine pistol. Variants produced: PK1.

Assault rifles

* HK G3 – 7.62×51 mm calibre assault rifle produced under license. Variants produced: G3A3, G3P4. * BW-20 – 7.62×51 mm calibre new assault rifle. Currently in testing for pitch for Pakistan Army next-generation rifle requirements. BW-20 has some similarities with the G3 (around 30%) with the intention to keep manufacturing costs low, however the BW-20 is not an upgrade of the G3. It is a new rifle. POF is also reportedly working on 5.56×45 mm and 7.62×39 mm versions of the BW-20. The latter design will reportedly be compatible with AK magazines. POF will likely pitch the 7.62×39 mm to both the Pakistan Army and the Ministry of Interior’s (MoI) paramilitary units as service adoption for that round grows. In 2015, the Pakistan Army issued a tender for a new-generation assault rifle. It had tested many designs from all over the world, including the FN SCAR, Beretta ARX200,

CZ BREN 2 The CZ 805 BREN is a gas-operated modular assault rifle designed and manufactured by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod. The modular design enables users to change the calibre of the weapon to 5.56×45mm NATO or 7.62×39mm intermediate cartridges by ...

AK-103 The AK-103 is a Russian assault rifle designed by small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov. History The AK-103 was officially offered for export in March 1993 Design details It is an AK-100 derivative of the AK-74M that is chambered for ...

and others. In the end, however, the Army did not select any of the 7.62×51 mm designs for local adoption. There were reports of Pakistan requesting the AK-103 from Russia, but the status of that program is unclear. Ultimately, it seems that POF was given the greenlight to design an original rifle. Part of the reason seems to stem from a sense that none of the foreign designs substantially improved upon the G3 in terms of its accuracy and durability. This is not to say the other rifles were not good, but the added improvement they offered may not have justified the total cost of adopting and locally manufacturing a foreign design. * PK-18 – New assault rifle 7.62×51 mm calibre ''(Based on ArmaLite AR-10A)'', ( G3 REPLACEMENT), status is unclear. * PK-21 – New assault rifle/SMG 7.62×39 mm calibre ''(Licensed copy of

)'', ( TYPE 56 REPLACEMENT), status is unclear.

Precision rifles

* PSR-90 – 7.62×51 mm calibre sniper rifle, an indigenous variant of the HK MSG-90. * Azb DMR MK1 – 7.62×51 mm calibre

designated marksman rifle A designated marksman rifle (DMR) is a modern scoped high- precision rifle used by infantrymen in the designated marksman (DM) role. It generally fills the engagement range gap between a service rifle and a dedicated sniper rifle, at aroun ...

. * Light Sniper Rifle (LSR) – .308 Winchester calibre bolt action sniper rifle.

Hunting rifles

* .308 Win Sporter – .308 Winchester calibre sporting/hunting sniper rifle.

Machine guns

* MG 3 –

7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first been introduced in U.S. service fo ...

calibre

general purpose machine gun A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered for ...

, produced under license. * HMG PK-16 –

12.7×108mm The 12.7×108mm cartridge is a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle Cartridge (firearms), cartridge used by the former Soviet Union, the former Warsaw Pact countries, modern Russia, China and other countries. It was invented in 1934 ...

calibre

heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable o ...

, modified ''( Type 54P)''. * Type 54P –

calibre

''( DShK variant)'', produced under license.

POF Eye

POF Eye is a special-purpose hand-held weapon system similar in concept to the CornerShot that can fire weapons around corners. It was first revealed at the 5th International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS 2008), held at the Karachi Expo Centre in November 2008. It is designed for SWAT and special forces teams in hostile situations, particularly counter-terrorism and hostage rescue operations. It allows its operator to both see and attack an armed target without exposing the operator to counter-attack.

Exports

In addition to meeting the demands of Pakistan Defense Forces, POF products are in service with over 40 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Ammunition and rifles have been exported to countries such as Iraq, Croatia and Afghanistan for their respective military establishments. POF specializes in the manufacturing of commercial explosives, hunting ammunition and possesses extensive facilities for the manufacture of brass, copper and aluminum ingots. A state of the art garments factory, manufactures military uniforms and can also cater for the needs of the civil sector. As of post 2010s, Pakistan has been aiming to push ahead with its export market but facing difficulties due to international guidelines enforced by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

. In 2017, the POF announced it will be opening a branch in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

and targeting Middle Eastern markets where it will cater not only the needs of the host country, but throughout much of the Middle East where demands are high.

Incidents

August 2008 bombing

On 21 August 2008, POF's industrial complex was the target of twin suicide bombings by the

Tehrik-i-Taliban The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bo ...

; 68 people were killed and 81 injured in the attack.

2021 explosion

References

External links

* {{authority control Firearm manufacturers of Pakistan Pakistan Army affiliated organizations Military research installations of Pakistan Government-owned companies of Pakistan Defence agencies of Pakistan Pakistan federal departments and agencies Manufacturing companies established in 1951 Pakistan–United Kingdom relations Pakistani companies established in 1951

History

Background

Products

Ammunition

Anti-aircraft & aircraft ammunition

Anti-tank & tank ammunition

Artillery ammunition

Anti-submarine ammunition

Military explosives and Propellants

Grenades

Mortars

Rockets

Small arms ammunition

Infantry weapons

Pistols

Sub-machine guns

Assault rifles

Precision rifles

Hunting rifles

Machine guns

POF Eye

Exports

Incidents

August 2008 bombing

2021 explosion

See also

References

External links