Probably the coolest story coming out of SHOT Show involves one of the largest state-owned firearms plants in the world spooling up to send pallets of iconic guns to anxious consumers in the U.S.
PT Pindad (Persero) dates to 1808 and since 1950 has been the primary domestic arsenal for the Indonesian military. Back in the mid-1960s, with the Pacific Rim country's shift to embrace the West, Pindad began to acquire a series of licenses to make firearms locally in Java. These included two from Beretta to manufacture the PM12 9mm submachine gun and the BM-59 battle rifle in 7.62 NATO. In 1984, Pindad secured the same sort of technical package and license to produce the FN FNC 5.56 rifle. Of note, Indonesia was the first country to adopt the FNC, even before Sweden and Belgium.
Now, commercial variants are headed to American shores.
Guns.com contacted Pindad along with their U.S. partner, Nevada-based Terratek USA, at the SHOT Show last week to get the details. Terratek, a Type 08 FFL, has signed an MOU with Pindad for joint marketing, manufacturing, and assembly of Pindad’s products in the U.S.
"We hope to leverage Pindad’s long history and expertise in this industry to create jobs and diversify the economic footprint in the Las Vegas Valley," said James Ferguson, general manager of Terratek USA. "What Pindad brings to the table extends beyond the defense industry as their portfolio spans across heavy machinery manufacturing, electronics, and a plethora of commercial applications."
West Coast Armory in Bellevue, Washington is set up to build out the imported guns for 922 compliance. You may remember them as the folks who brought a small number of Swiss SIG SG 550s and 551s to the market a few years back. Meanwhile, ZSGA USA of Bothell has contracted with Pindad to import firearms and ammunition totaling over $20.1 million.
Pindad reps told us that production of the SS1-C could be sustained at 200-300 guns per month for export, and a folding stock will be sold separately, as all NFA rules apply. Company officials told Guns.com that the prospect of a Swedish AK5 clone, with green furniture, is in the works.
The company also makes primers, which Terratek will be bringing in, as well as 9mm, 5.56, 7.62 NATO, and .50 cal BMG ammunition. Further, Pindad catalogs a semi-auto 12 gauge (SG-1), two precision rifles (the SPR-4 in .338LM and SPR-2 in .50 cal BMG), and the SS Amphibious, the latter able to fire either a standard 5.56 NATO cartridge on land or a special cartridge when underwater. On the green side of things, they have FN's most popular modern machine guns-- the FN MAG, Minimi, and M2-- under licensed production as well. They even made licensed variants of the Browning Hi-Power (Pindad P1/P2) for decades so, who knows, maybe that could come back up at some point.
The 300,000-man Indonesian army has relied on Pindad-made firearms for generations, as has the rest of the country's military and police forces. Indonesia has long been a vital U.S. ally, with the Carnegie Endowment noting last year that the "United States is already Indonesia’s largest security partner; each year, the two countries hold more than 220 defense activities, ranging from smaller expert exchanges to large-scale multilateral military exercises, such as Super Garuda Shield, an annual exercise involving 19 nations."
You better believe we will be bringing you more information on this story as it becomes available.
