The name is a reference to the famous Shipka Pass, near Arsenal's Kazanlak headquarters, in the Balkans where Bulgarian volunteers and Russian troops defeated the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877, thereby liberating Bulgaria.

[1] The Shipka is a compact weapon originally intended for use by drivers, pilots, special operations forces, and other military personnel who might benefit from a close-quarter weapon that still had considerably greater range and fire rate than a typical sidearm.

The prototype and pre-production versions of the Shipka were chambered in 9×25mm Mauser and used a 30-round box magazine.

After Bulgaria's entry into NATO, a version chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum with a 25-round magazine was introduced.

The simple buttstock is made from steel wire and folds to the left side of gun.