Glock pistols, the famous polymer frame pistols that is used by armed forces in more than 70 nations will now be made in India and made available to Indian citizens.
Tamil Nadu based Counter Measures Technologies Pvt Ltd and Glock Ges.m.b.H entered into a partnership in 2019 to produce these pistols at their CMT plant in Thiruvallur which is now a part of the state’s defence industrial corridor proposed by the Centre.
This joint venture which was initially aimed at only supplying arms to the government has now been extended to sell these pistols to civilians at the end of March 2021 as stated by Jayakumar Jayarajan, one of the company’s shareholders.
This is about to be a game-changer as these pistols have been sold to citizens in many countries including the US. “The Covid-19 lockdown delayed our project by more than six months. We are trying to pick up speed. Our first priority is to supply the 9 mm pistols to the armed forces. Civilians will get the .22 LR, .380, .357 Sig, .40 and .45 calibre pistols. We have permission to set up our own proof testing facility,” said Jayarajan.
Glock produces fifth generation pistols using its polymer technology with competitors following suit. It is the world’s first military service pistol to sport a light polymer frame and trigger safety feature.
Majority of licensed firearms owners in India, have access to only old or antiquated foreign handguns imported before 1984 or the ones being made by government ordnance factories. The Congress government in 1984 had banned import of all types of firearms, giving exemptions only to national and international shooters and state agencies.
Though the pistol has been out of reach it is a familiar name to the nation.
A 9 mm Glock 26 compact pistol was the only weapon wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman was armed with when he was captured in Pakistan in February 2019 after the Balakot airstrikes.
It was also used by National Security Guard (NSG) commandos during the terror attack on Pathankot air force base in 2016 and in other operations.