The majority of the Communist forces were supplied with weapons from either China or the Soviet Union. The Viet Cong guerrilla fighters were known to have western weapons that were obtained from French forts in Vietnam, the black market, or from the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam). The Soviet AK-47 was the most popular weapon of the war, and was often used by Americans who could capture them from the enemy. The Viet Cong and the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) shared and used the same weapons. They mostly utilized Warsaw PAct weapons, although they were known to sometimes use Chinese and Communist weapons.
Artillery:
- -The Vietnamese used rather large artillery throughout the war. They were attracted to the long range and large destruction. Among their stationary artillery batteries were many variants of Howitzer guns, ranging in caliber from 122-152mm shells. Compared to the U.S., who used 105mm and 175mm shells, the Vietnamese were equipped and easily matched the U.S. artillery force. The mortars used by the Vietnamese were also exceptionally large calibers with the biggest being a 160mm mortar.
Helicopters:
- -Vietnamese helicopters were not as common or as well equipped as the U.S.'s, and were not used to any considerable capacity. There were four variants of helicopters used by both the Viet Cong and the NVA. All four helicopters, the Mi4, Mil, Mi-2, and Mi-8, were all Soviet manufactured by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant. These helicopters were all designed to be transport aircraft. They had no attached weapons, and were very bulky and slow. Due to the Viet Cong's guerrilla tactics, these large, slow aircraft were not preferable, leading to their lack of use.
Tanks:
- -The Vietnamese used a lot of different tanks from different manufactures and countries. Although they weren't use often, the variety of tanks they had was impressive. The minimum estimation based on available information at the time suggested that the Vietnamese used at least 15 different tanks. The two most common seen in the war were the Type-54 and Type 59 tanks. They were made in China by the First Inner Mongolia Machinery Factory. They were armed with 100mm cannons and 27.62mm machine guns.
Vehicles:
- -One of the most common supply transport vehicles was actually the bicycle. They were able to carry 400 pounds of supplies, making them very effective. These were mostly operated by women and any men not already fighting.