Caracal, a firearms manufacturer from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has reaffirmed its commitment to building its CAR816 assault rifle in India.
The company’s announcement, on 21 September, comes one week after the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) cancelled its planned procurement from the company of more than 90,000 CAR816s in favour of sourcing the rifle requirement from local industry.
Caracal said in a press release that the company is committed to the MoD’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, with plans already underway to “fully manufacture” the rifles in India in partnership with local companies. Caracal added that it “remains on standby” to supply the CAR816 rifle to India.
UAE-based Caracal has reiterated a commitment to build its CAR816 rifle (pictured) in India. (Janes/R D Jones)
“Caracal has already identified the required land, facility, and local partners to be able to commence production immediately,” said the company.
“Over 20% of the components fitted on the CAR816 are already made in India with Caracal now making a commitment to fully manufacture the rifles in-country, in alignment with the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The initiative will also see Caracal oversee technology transfer.”
Hamad Al Ameri, Caracal’s CEO, said: “We would like to reiterate our commitment to our bid and to the ‘Make in India’ initiative. With strong bilateral ties between our two nations, and with India being a key market for Caracal, we remain on standby to supply the product to the customer upon instruction.”
Janes reported in mid-September that an MoD committee opted to revoke the CAR816 acquisition alongside another programme to procure self-propelled anti-aircraft gun/missile (SPAAG/M) systems. The two procurements were in the final stages of being confirmed.
Looking to read the full article?
Gain unlimited access to Janes news and more...
