Officially established by the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1994, the Scientific Industrial Association RPC "Fort" is currently Ukraine's oldest constantly active manufacturer of small arms.

Ever since 1998 – when its first line of pistols was launched, based upon the CZ-75 handgun design and manufactured on machineries bought from the Czech Republic, many variants of which are still in production – RPC "Fort" has been fulfilling the needs of Ukraine's military and law enforcement community.

Today, RPC "Fort" manufactures a broad range of sporting, hunting, and defensive firearms; weapons for military and law enforcement applications; general purpose and specialty ammunition; riot control gear; and a long list of dedicated accessories, from sound suppressors to upgrade kits for Kalashnikov AKM and AK-74 series assault rifles. The company's vast catalog isn't very well known in the West, but has been enjoying an increasing amount of success in developing Countries.

At the end of the 2010s – after manufacturing and assembling a line of small arms under IWI license for a number of years – RPC "Fort" started an upgrade program that would lead the company to offer a line of modern firearms designed and manufactured entirely in Ukraine, to best fit the needs of both local customers and foreign customers (chiefly State actors in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa) that may need better, more modern, but still cost-effective armament solutions.

Unlike what some may expect – normally a Country in a state of active war ends up slowing down or pausing the development of new armament projects, or at the very least heavily prioritizing the mass production of what they already have and what they can already make – the Russian invasion of February 2022 and the ongoing conflict didn't stop said modernization effort: back in March, RPC "Fort" was back at the IWA OutdoorClassics 2025 expo in Nuremberg (Germany) showcasing their latest and most interesting new products, and then some.

First announced back in Summer 2021, six months before the start of the Russian invasion, the FORT-20 line of pistols is now in production and is seeing limited deployment within elements of the Ukrainian forces.

The FORT-20 are semi-automatic, striker-fired, locked-breech short recoil operated pistols with a single-action only trigger – the trigger pull doesn't arm the trigger even partially but just releases it, so less of a Glock type pistol and more of an HS Produkt or Springfield Armory design – built around a lightweight polymer frame with an integral MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny rail for accessories and a machined steel slide with front and rear serrations and a durable phosphate finish.

The FORT-20 pistols were conceived to be down-to-Earth firearms, easy and non labor- or cost-intensive to manufacture as well as easy to familiarize with, thus facilitating and speeding up training for civilian, military, and law enforcement users alike. The 2025 edition of IWA saw RPC "Fort" announce no less than five variants in the FORT-20 series.

The two basic models of the line, dubbed the FORT-20 and FORT-20A respectively, are dedicated to military, law enforcement, and private security applications as well as civilian personal and property defense. Not many differences between the two: the FORT-20 can be ordered with an optional ambidextrous frame-mounted manual safety, while the FORT-20A comes standard with a "Glock-style" trigger safety.

Both models are chambered in 9mm Luger and feed through double-stack 16-rounds magazines; both the FORT-20 and FORT-20A are 183 mm / 7.2" long overall, weigh in at approximately 800 grams (31.7 oz) when empty, and come standard from factory with a 9,8 cm / 3.8" barrel; both are also optionally available with a 110 mm or 116 mm (4.3" / 4.6") threaded barrel that bumps the overall length up to 203 mm / 7.95" and allows the use of Fort's own, dedicated DLSLS ("ПЗРЗП") sound suppressor.

The FORT-20AS pistol comes from factory with a "Glock-style" trigger safety, while the FORT-20S can be ordered with an optional ambidextrous frame-mounted manual safety.

Both the FORT-20S and FORT-20AS are available with an optional MOS-type micro red dot sight interface machined directly on to the slide, and allow the trigger travel and reset to be adjusted. Other features are essentially the same as those of the defense- and service-oriented versions.

Finally, the FORT-20SP comes from factory with a machined optics-ready slide and a 116 mm / 4.56" barrel fitted with a massive compensator.

Standing at 225 mm / 8.85" in overall length and weighing in at 970 grams (34.2 oz) when empty, the FORT-20SP can also fit extended magazines and is optinally available with a frame-mounted ambidextrous manual safety.

Its features place the FORT-20SP squarely in the list of viable pistols for IPSC competitions in the Open division; the other entries in the line could find their way in IDPA, USPSA, or IPSC Production competitions, but no RPC "Fort" handgun is featured in the approved IPSC Production pistols list so far.

While not exactly a brand new pistol – it was first introduced back in 2018 – the FORT-28 pistol is definitely noteworthy as it tries to find its place in a relatively small market segment, specifically that of  5.7x28mm caliber pistols.

Externally similar to the famous FN Five-Seven pistol, the FORT-28 is a short recoil operated, delayed blowback semi-automatic pistol with a 35N pull, striker-fired trigger system and no external safeties other than a "Glock-style" trigger safety.

Unlike the FN Five-Seven, which is a hammer-fired design, the FORT-28 is striker-fired to reduce mechanical complexity; it is built on a black polymer frame with a textured, slip-proof, ergonomically-friendly grip and an integral MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny rail for accessories, and feeds through a proprietary 20-rounds double-stack magazine.

The frontally-lightened slide, featuring standard front and rear cocking serrations, is peculiar in that it is machined out of steel but coated in a matte black polymer blend to make operation smoother and protect it from shocks, drops, scratches, and potentially dangerous elements.

Both the FORT-230 and the FORT-230A sub-machine guns feature a 19 cm / 7.48" barrel with a screw-on flash hider that can be easily replaced with a multi-functional muzzle device dubbing as a quick-attachment point for a dedicated DLSLS-230 (ПЗРЗП-230) sound suppressor.

Standing at 41 cm / 9.44" in overall length with the stock folded or collapsed and approximately 63 to 64 cm (24 to 25 inch) with the stock unfolded or extended, the FORT-230 sub-machine guns weigh in at approximately 3 kilograms (6.61 lbs) when empty; that's not exactly a featherweight, particularly compared to modern western SMGs, but the extra weight does help in making them controllable given the fairly high rate of fire.

At the moment, the FORT-230 sub-machine guns are in use on the frontline by Ukrainian troops and they've been documented in the hands of special operation forces and being used as personal defense weapons by some artillery units. If (when) the FORT-230 and FORT-230A do hit the global military export markets, they will be able to boast a documented real-life experience of field use in combat conditions. And being "tested on the field" is always a plus.

The FORT-500 line of pump-action shotguns – in use with military and law enforcement agencies in Ukraine ever since the early 2000s – aren't exactly a "new" product for RPC "Fort", but the line has undergone an almost completely uphauling in the past few years, and the war in Ukraine brought shotguns under a completely different spotlight in terms of military use, far from their old niche role as breaching and CQB tools and into a new dimension made mostly of anti-drone warfare.

The FORT-500 series shotguns are chambered for 12 gauge, 76mm / 3" shotshells, quite standard in terms of design and mechanical layout, and built around an aluminum frame vaguely inspired to the tried-and-true Remington 870 design. Some entries in the line feature a matte black polymer coating on the frame, for increased resistance under hostile conditions.

The FORT-500 line currently comprises four models: the FORT-500 A1 and FORT-500 TS, both with a 20-inch barrel; the FORT-500 M, with a 455 mm / 17.9" barrel; and the FORT-500 M1S, with a 34,5 cm / 13.5" barrel. The TS and M1S models feature a ventilated barrel shroud.

Capacity will vary depending on the model: the A1, M and M1S models will host four shells in the magazine tube and one in the chamber, while the overall capacity of the TS variant goes all the way up to seven shots.

The vertical pistol grip and sliding forend is manufactured out of polymer on all variants, with the M and M1S models featuring Picatinny rails for accessories on the forend. Two models – the M and TS specifically – come from factory with a collapsible M4 carbine type buttstock, while the M1S and A1 variants feature a top-folding metal stock.

The FORT-600A hosts a removable black polymer vertical foregrip on its railed forend, and a full-length MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny rail for optics attached directly on top of the barrel which hosts a fixed front sight and a ladder rear sight with powdered tritium luminescent markings. The top rail makes the FORT-600A compatible with a vast array of dedicated grenade launcher optical sights.

Standing at 365 mm / 14.37" in overall length with its stock folded and at anywhere between 585 and 695 mm (23 to 27.5 inch) with its stock open depending on the type and position of the stock, the FORT-600A grenade launcher weighs in between 2,5 and 3 kilograms (5.5 to 6.6 lbs) and its maximum effective range in indirect fire is 400 meters (ca. 437 yds). It has been documented to be in use with Ukrainian military units on the front lines.