HIGHER CALIBRE

Western manufacturers are now seeing increasingly successful small arms designs emerging from Asia.

- Stephen W. Miller

The weapon carried by every soldier not only impacts on their effectiveness in combat but also makes a statement becoming a part of the overall identity of a country’s military. The selection of that weapon can also be a matter of national pride with the development, production, and fielding of an indigenous design to equip one’s military. There is also a constant push to stay current with the latest technology and weapon design trends. In addition, the level of modernisation of a country’s individual weapons can be viewed as a reflection of the efficiency and indication of the combat capabilities of its military. As a result, significant attention can given to the arming of the soldier, as well as to the procurement or local development of state-of-the-art modern weapons. This trend has been equally true by nations in the Asian-Pacific region with a number of this designing and fielding their own world-class weapons. The region is today not only a market for advanced weapons but an exporter of individual arms in their own right.

Given the national prestige associated with having local small arms and the specific requirements of military it is not surprising that some facilities are government-supported and even government-owned or affiliated. Yet, many of their designs have come to reflect state-of-the-art designs utilising current material technologies. Their configurations reflect and draw upon the latest trends and design approaches including the bullpup, AR, AK, SCAR, as well as combinations of various proven features. Rather than replicating other weapon designs these are often incorporated into their own wellthought-out innovative features. The ability of these facilities to manufacture and offer their weapons at highly competitive prices has positioned them as an attractive weapon source for many world armies.

Singapore