Private Sector Firm Set to Make Small Arms

Indian weapons company SSS Defence will begin manufacturing and testing small arms at its new facility that will be operational in Bengaluru in January 2022, with the complex also housing a first-of-its kind underground weapons testing tunnel to determine their effectiveness, the firm’s CEO Vivek Krishnan said on Monday.

“This will be our first full-fledged facility where we will carry out integrated research and development, manufacturing and testing of weapons,” he said. Security audits by the ministry of home affairs are currently on at the manufacturing unit.

In a needed boost to the government’s Make in India campaign, the weapons factory will make SSS Defence the second private sector company in India to manufacture small arms for the local and export markets after PLR Systems Ltd (PLR), a joint venture between Adani Group and Israel Weapon Industries (IWI).

The 150-metre-long tunnel will be the first underground facility to be set up by a private sector company in the country for testing and evaluation of weapons ranging from pistols and assault rifles to carbines and sniper rifles, people familiar with the matter said. The testing process allows manufacturers to gather crucial tactical weapon data including muzzle velocity, action time and consistency.

Experts said the development was an indicator of the small arms manufacturing business coming of age in the private sector and the Indian military and paramilitary would have cheaper indigenous options to choose from.

The four-year-old firm SSS Defence emerged as the lowest bidder for a contract to upgrade a small number of Indian Army’s AK-47 assault rifles, beating off competition from established Israeli rival Fab Defense, as reported by Hindustan Times on Sunday.

Thus far it has built prototype weapons such as assault rifles and sniper rifles at a ‘bridge’ or make-shift facility in Bengaluru, and the new facility will allow the Bengaluru-based firm to ramp up annual production to 20,000 assault rifles and 3,000 sniper rifles depending on orders, Krishnan said.

PLR is working on its first order to supply Masada 9mm pistols to the Indian Navy’s elite marine commandos, said one of persons cited above. The JV is manufacturing at its Gwalior facility the complete range of IWI weapons such as Tavor assault rifles, X95 assault rifles, Galil sniper rifles, Negev light machine guns and Uzi submachine guns.

The weapons to be manufactured at SSS Defence’s eight-acre unit at Jigani near Bengaluru’s well-known technology hub, Electronic City, include the Viper and Saber sniper rifles, P-72 assault rifles and the P-72 carbines, Krishnan said. The weapons facility represents an investment of around ₹200 crore.

The company is also setting up an ammunition manufacturing plant at Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh that is expected to be operational next year.

Achieving self-reliance in the small arms sector is critical, said military affairs expert Lieutenant General DB Shekatkar (retd).

“Apart from the military, paramilitary organisations and state police forces need to be equipped with quality small arms for better response,” said Shekatkar.

Source: HT