The Bulgarian army has begun the process of retiring the long-serving Soviet Makarov pistol, which has been in service since 1951, and will replace it with the modern 9 mm Springfield Armory Echelon 4.5, Ground Forces commander Major General Deyan Deshkov announced at the Lyulyak training ground near Stara Zagora.

Although the Springfield Armory brand is American, the selected pistols are produced in Croatia. Procuring several thousand units is planned to be included in the 2026 budget, and the army already holds the necessary ammunition to speed up training and integration of the new weapon among personnel.

The pistol replacement is part of a broader, large scale programme to modernize small arms that began with a public order in 2024. The framework for that procurement is valued at 40 million leva and covers not only service pistols but also new sniper rifles, assault carbines and machine guns built to NATO technical standards. A decision on the selection of a sniper system for the Ground Forces is expected next year.

Alongside small arms renewal, deliveries of reconnaissance drones, FPV drones and so called kamikaze drones are continuing. There is no plan to retire the Soviet era Grad multiple rocket launchers; instead, a modernisation road map for those systems has been prepared. Under the EU SAFE programme, the army is prioritising two major projects, replacing main artillery with 155 mm howitzers and acquiring high precision, long range missile systems. Major General Deshkov noted that progress on those projects will depend on decisions at the military and political level.

Technical profile of the Springfield Armory Echelon 4.5. The weapon is a contemporary, semi automatic service pistol with a lightweight polymer frame, chambered for 9x19 mm rounds. Magazine capacity options are 17 and 20 rounds. The 4.5 index denotes a barrel length of roughly 4.5 inches, or about 11.4 centimetres. The design includes an interface for easy mounting of red dot optics, which is a notable practical advantage.

In appearance and dimensions the Echelon 4.5 resembles the Glock G45 in 9x19 calibre, while its selling point is the straightforward fitting of optics. The Glock retains advantages in the aftermarket, in particular wider availability of holsters and spare parts. On the civilian market in the United States both pistols sell in a similar price range.

The selected pistols are manufactured by HS Produkt in Croatia, a longstanding production partner of Springfield Armory. HS Produkt has an estimated monthly output of about 30,000 pistols, exports around 90 percent of its production to the United States and is a major employer in Karlovac County. The company was founded by engineers Ivan Zabcic and Marko Vukovic, the latter serving as chief designer and bringing combat experience from the Croatian War of Independence. Since 1991 HS Produkt reports cumulative sales of some six million pistols and has expanded into development of submachine guns and personal defence weapons for European markets.