Having already secured a contract to supply around 1,45,000 assault rifles to the Indian Army, American arms maker Sig Sauer on Wednesday said that it will manufacture a portion of these firearms in India.
Sig Sauer Partners With Nibe Ltd. & Will Manufacture Firearms in India
Having already secured a contract to supply around 1,45,000 assault rifles to the Indian Army, American arms maker Sig Sauer on Wednesday said that it will manufacture a portion of these firearms in India. Announcing its partnership with Pune-based Nibe Group, the company stated that India is its “largest procurement source” globally.
Sig Sauer’s CEO and President Ron Cohen told that by 2025, the company plans to manufacture a complete product in India, initially for the Indian market, including the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Cohen also revealed that the company has recently received an additional order for 73,000 Sig 716 assault rifles, which it will deliver throughout 2025.
He added, “We’ve been active in India for nearly 20 years, sourcing numerous components from its defence industry. India has become our largest procurement source worldwide for Sig Sauer, which operates across 93 countries. We are the world’s largest manufacturer of firearms.”
Defending the World
“The Indian Defence sector, the 2nd largest armed force is at the cusp of revolution. The Gov has identified the Defence and Aerospace sector as a focus area for the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, with a formidable push on the establishment of indigenous manufacturing infrastructure supported by a requisite research and development ecosystem.
3.3%
Share of GDP spent on defence (2023-24)
$2.63 Bn
Defence exports have reached an all-time high in FY 2023-24
INR 1.26Lakh Cr
Current value of Defence production in FY 2023-24
4.79%
Increase in Defence Budget of FY 2024-25 over the FY 2023-24 Budget
Ministry of Defence has set a target of achieving a turnover of INR 1.75 Lakh Cr in aerospace and defence Manufacturing by 2025, which includes exports of INR 35,000 Cr. Till Apr 2023, a total of 606 Industrial Licenses have been issued to 369 companies operating in Defence Sector. The government has also announced 2 dedicated Defence Industrial Corridors in the States of Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh to act as clusters of defence manufacturing.
