A day after news emerged that Indian Army will be procuring an additional 73,000 SIG716 rifles from ammunition and pistol maker SIG SAUER, Vivek Krishnan, the CEO of Bengaluru-based small-arms manufacturer SSS Defence has lamented the Narendra Modi government's decision.

Taking to social media platform X, Krishnan wished the government hadn't purchased more of the SIG716 rifles rifles. He said, "A private solicitation and insistence on Indian design and content would’ve easily thrown up a contender or many in fact. Testing the same against the in service system would’ve been rather easy."

In fact, Krishnan threw a challenge to SIG SAUER and proposed putting each other's indigenous weapons up against global benchmarks in each caliber and make the results public.

"we’ve heard from the buyer for a long time that “we’re not there on metallurgy” or “our designs are behind time”. I say put an indigenous weapon of ours against a global benchmark in each caliber and test out. Make the results open like real serious armies do. Test protocols are clearly defined. It would be the best for both sides. How difficult is that," Krishnan asked.

The MoD-SIG SAUER Contract

In 2019, the Ministry of Defence had awarded SIG SAUER a contract for 72,400 SIG716 rifles. The company attributed the recent follow-on order for additional rifles to the "fielding and overwhelming" acceptance by soldiers, as stated in their announcement on Tuesday.

The SIG716 is an assault rifle platform chambered in 7.62 NATO, featuring a 16-inch barrel, M-LOK handguard, and a 6-position telescoping stock. SIG SAUER manufactures the SIG716 rifles for the Indian Army as well as for its customers in the United States.

SSS Defence, which manufactures snipers, assault rifles and light machine guns, and ammunition, is already an established player in the weapons manufacturing industry. Earlier this year, the firm executed a mega export contract from a friendly foreign country for .338 Lapua Magnum calibre sniper rifle. This was the first time when a foreign country received a Made in India sniper rifle.

SSS Defence: 'It’s a self esteem thing'

Following the MoD's latest decision, Krishnan said that his firm is committed to providing a weapon for every caliber. He summed up the setback, stating that "we brown skinned Indians have always found that we are respected by our own global peers before the country wakes up".

He said, "There are a handful of guys really doing good work in the small arms space. There's commitment from them and all it will take is patience. With our neighbourhood, only a fool can imagine doing without indigenous weapons. They will have to come and buy from us."

"What about pride in Indian stuff? We lost that pride a long while ago by building sub standard weapons in the govt controlled space. If anything, the private sector is regaining some of the pride. But making good weapons & getting them accepted is a difficult task. We know since going global has taught us that. In any case, we brown skinned Indians have always found that we are respected by our own global peers before the country wakes up. It’s a self esteem thing."