Indian companies vie for army’s submachine gun tender
The locally developed Asmi 9mm submachine gun is presumed to be one contender for an Indian Army requirement for submachine guns. (Photo: DRDO)
Indian companies, most with tie-ups with foreign OEMs, are hoping to win a sizeable tender for 9mm submachine guns.
In response to the Indian Army’s recent tender seeking 5,000 9x19mm machine pistols, nine Indian vendors submitted their technical and commercial bids by the 9 January deadline.
Worth an estimated $5 million, the submachine guns are being acquired as an ‘emergency procurement’ via Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020’s fast-track procedure. They are intended for the army’s tank crews and Ghatak or commando platoons in infantry battalions.
Almost all indigenous manufacturers who responded to the Infantry Directorate’s 12 December tender had existing collaborative arrangements with overseas OEMs.
However, according to the 75-page tender, the weapons need to incorporate an indigenous content of
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