By Ajay Vaishnav Feb 7, 2020 7:56:01 AM IST (Updated)
Three-year-old SSS Defence is one of the rare triumphs for an Indian company in a sector that has long relied on foreign forces for weapons technology and manufacture and could potentially boost Modi’s Make in India push.
A Bengaluru-based defence startup said it has developed the country's first indigenous sniper rifle prototypes, boosting hopes of reviving the government’s struggling Make in India initiative at least in the small arms segment.
Three-year-old SSS Defence said it built India’s first indigenously designed and developed two advanced sniper platforms, chambered for cartridges of two sizes (.308/7.62x51mm and.338 diameters). SSS Defence also made an assault rifle on the 7.62x39 mm caliber and a close quarter battle carbine platform.
Vivek Krishnan, chief executive officer (CEO) of SSS Defence, told CNBCTV18.com, that the entire design of the rifle is Indian. “We have applied a lot of cross functional disciplines — chemical engineering in coatings, metallurgy, industrial design, anthropometrics, aerospace engineering — in the process of design and testing,” he said, adding that the entire range will be made in India.