Stumpp Schuele & Somappa Defence (SSS Defence) is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

company that deals in

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

small arms sectors. It is a subsidiary of Stumpp Schuele & Somappa Springs. Its current focus area is

small arms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

, ammunition and accessories related to small arms.

History

In 2016, Stumpp Schuele & Somappa Springs, the biggest Indian manufacturer of springs, started deliberating on ways to diversify its business. This led to the creation of SSS Defence. This foray into the business of small arms and ammunition was primarily targeted onto the foreign markets located in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, apart from those in India. It became the first private Indian firm to have developed

sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long range shooting, long-range rifle. Requirements include high accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment, and optics, for anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel, anti-materiel rifle, anti-materiel and sur ...

s when it’s Viper and Saber rifles were released. In October 2021, the firm received an order to upgrade some of Indian army's AK-47 rifles to special operations standard. This was the first time a private Indian company received a firearms order. In July 2024, the company secured the first export contract to a friendly foreign nation, though how many Saber sniper rifles were ordered remains unknown. The company also received the contract of ammunition from several countries. The sum of these deals is around $50 million. In March 2025, SSS Defence won a contract to provide the Manohar M72 carbine to the Uttar Pradesh Police with 2,000 M72s. In the same month, the company unveiled a submachine gun chambered in 9mm Parabellum and a DMR.

Products and facilities

Products

Sniper rifles

SSS Defence has developed two sniper rifles and plans to offer them for trials to Indian special forces, being the Viper and the Saber. SSS Defence says that these rifles have been designed to be compatible with the body structures of Indian soldiers. * Viper is a sub-MOA

chambered for 7.62×51mm or

.308 The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar, but not identical, to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...

cartridges. It has a proven range of more than . * Saber is a

chambered for .338 Lapua Magnum. Its length and height can be adjusted at its butt stock. It has a range of around . The

picatinny rail The 1913 rail (MIL-STD-1913 rail) is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mount ...

system on the rifle has a MIL-STD-1913 rail at a total of 4 positions. It has a weight of around 7 kilograms. When fully equipped with accessories, the Sabre weighs around 9 kilograms. The rifle has an ambidextrous

magazine release A magazine, often simply called a mag, is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holdi ...

. It can be equipped with three different types of

barrels A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids ...

with lengths of 24, 26, and 27 inches respectively, its RH Twist being 1:11.25". The receiver system of the rifle is made up of

aluminium alloy An aluminium alloy ( UK/IUPAC) or aluminum alloy ( NA; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There ...

and the surface of the receiver is coated with cerakote and

black oxide Black oxide or blackening is a conversion coating for ferrous materials, stainless steel, copper and copper based alloys, zinc, powdered metals, and silver solder. It is used to add mild corrosion resistance, for appearance, and to minimize light ...

Assault rifles

The company has also developed the P-72 family of rifles, with design philosophy similar to the ACR,

FN Scar The FN SCAR (SOF (Special Operations Forces) Combat Assault Rifle) is a family of gas-operated short-stroke gas piston automatic rifles developed by Belgian manufacturer FN Herstal (FN) in 2004. It is constructed with modularity for the United ...

, and

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

CZ Bren 2 The CZ 805 BREN is a gas-operated modular assault rifle designed and manufactured by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod. The modular design enables users to change the calibre of the weapon to 5.56×45mm NATO or 7.62×39mm intermediate cartridges b ...

Family. * P-72 Rapid Engagement Combat Rifle (RECR) was designed for general

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

and

special operations Special operations or special ops are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment." Special operations ma ...

environments. It is chambered for 7.62×39mm or 7.62×51mm. * P-72 Recon

Carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...

is a short, gas piston-operated weapon chambered for 7.62×39mm or 5.56×45mm cartridges. * P-72 Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR) comes in both 7.62×51mm and 7.62×39mm. This provides a range of around . * Manohar 72 (M72) carbine

Facilities

SSS Defence is projected to become the second Indian company to operate a

manufacturing facility by the end of 2020. This facility will eventually be capable of producing 80,000 arms per year, starting with an initial 15,000 per year. By 2021, it also plans to operationalise an ammunition manufacturing in

Anantapur Anantapur, officially Anantapuramu, is a city in Anantapur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Anantapuru Tehsil, mandal and also the divisional headquarters of Anantapur revenue division. The city ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. The firm has established a joint venture with

Companhia Brasileira de Cartuchos Companhia Brasileira de Cartuchos (CBC) is a Brazilian ammunition and weapons factory based in Ribeirão Pires, São Paulo, Brazil. Company profile World leader in ammunition for portable weapons and one of the main suppliers to NATO, CBC i ...

for this purpose. This facility will produce ammunition, including

12.7mm This is a list of firearm cartridge (weaponry), cartridges which have bullets in the to range. *''Length'' refers to the cartridge casing (ammunition), case length. *''OAL'' refers to the overall length of the cartridge. *''Bullet'' refers to ...

9mm This is a list of firearm cartridges that have bullets in the to caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviate ...

, 7.62×51mm, 7.62×39mm and .338 Lapua Magnum.

References

{{Reflist Firearm manufacturers of India Manufacturing companies based in Bengaluru 2017 establishments in Karnataka Indian companies established in 2017 Manufacturing companies established in 2017