The arm production in the Czechia has a long history going back to the 15th century. Howitzers and pistols were used by the Hussite army. The howitzer has an Czech origin - houfnice. The word pistol at least within the Czech circles is also believed to be a Czech origin - píštole "whisle" and is documented 100 years earlier than the Italian word and if for example, used in the catalogue of the Prague castle armory in 1440s and used in the battles from the earliest Hussite wars to the Hungarian-Bohemian wars in 1460s. Therefore, the gun manufacturing has a long history, and it was only perfected during the industrialization, when Bohemia and Moravia were the industrial core of the Austria-Hungary. Pilsen was a primary manufacturer in the monarchy, and various smaller productions were established during that time (Sellier & Bellot, Zbrojovka Brno).

The newly established Czechoslovakia spent a significant amount of its treasury on military, which is estimated to be as high as 12-13% of GDP in the 30s to offset the Great Depression, and creating decentralized manufacturing base for the armament industry to prevent destruction of one facility and knocking out of the armed industry in places like Pilsen and Brno. Between 1936 and 1938, various productions were moved away from Bohemia and many smaller facilities were established in cities like Uhersky Brod, Bojkovice, Vsetin, and in Slovakia like at Dubnice, Povazska Bystrica...

The Cold War with its huge market was a peak of the military production in Czechoslovakia. The decrease in the late 80s let to the collapse of armament industry in the 90s. Unlike in Slovakia, the Czech manufacturers had more capital in the 90s and maintained a certain level of development and production through the transition phase, which helped facilities like Uhersky Brod to survive.