New Delhi (NVI): The Ministry of Defence today said that DRDO-designed 5.56×30 mm Protective Carbine has successfully undergone the final phase of user trials on December 7, meeting all the parameters.
The gun has paved the way for induction into the services and its services may soon be taken by the ministry.
According to the Defence Ministry official statement, “This was the last leg of trials in a series of user trials which have been carried out in extreme temperature conditions in summer and high altitudes in winter.”
It added that Joint Venture Protective Carbine (JVPC) has successfully met stringent performance criteria of reliability and accuracy in addition to quality trials conducted by DGQA.
JVPC is a Gas Operated Semi Bull-pup automatic weapon having more than 700 rpm rate of fire, while the effective range of the carbine is more than 100 m and weighs about 3.0 kg.
It has key features like high reliability, low recoil, retractable butt, ergonomic design, single hand firing capability etc. These features make it a very potent weapon for Counter Insurgency or Counter Terrorism operations by security agencies, the ministry noted.
Meanwhile, the carbine has been designed as per Indian Army’s GSQR, by Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), a Pune based laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
On the other hand, the weapon is manufactured at Small Arms Factory, Kanpur while the ammunition is manufactured at Ammunition Factory, Kirkee Pune. It has already passed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) trials and procurement action is initiated by the CAPFs and various State Police organisations.
Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had unveiled the 5.56 x 30 mm JVPC during DefExpo- 2020 at Lucknow.
DRDO Chairman Satheesh Reddy also congratulated the defence organisation team, user team and all public and private agencies involved in manufacturing for successful reaching this milestone, the ministry added.
-RJV
