SOURCE: AFI
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), India’s largest paramilitary force, is set to hold fresh trials for the procurement of 200 sniper rifles and 20,000 rounds of .338 Lapua Magnum ammunition following a Delhi High Court ruling on April 8, 2025. The decision comes after Bengaluru-based SSS Defence, one of three bidders, challenged the tender process, alleging that competitors used non-compliant ammunition during trials, violating tender specifications.
The court’s intervention has quashed the CRPF’s rejection of SSS Defence’s bid and mandated a retrial within 45 days, highlighting the importance of transparency and fairness in defence procurement. This development, reported exclusively by ThePrint, underscores India’s push for indigenous defence manufacturing while exposing challenges in ensuring equitable tender processes.
The CRPF issued a tender in 2024 for 200 sniper rifles chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum, a high-powered cartridge effective for long-range engagements up to 1,500 meters, along with 20,000 rounds of ball/lock base ammunition. The procurement is critical for enhancing the CRPF’s counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism capabilities, particularly in conflict zones like Jammu and Kashmir and Maoist-affected regions. Three Indian firms—SSS Defence, Adani Defence’s PLR Systems, and MEIL’s ICOMM—participated in the bidding, aligning with India’s “Make in India” initiative to prioritize domestic manufacturers.
Field trials were conducted in two phases: the first in Pune in January 2025 and the second in Gurugram in February 2025. SSS Defence’s sniper rifle cleared the 100-meter, 800-meter, and 1,000-meter tests but failed the 400-meter test in the initial trial. In contrast, PLR Systems failed the 400-meter test in Pune, prompting a second trial. However, SSS Defence raised concerns after discovering that PLR Systems and ICOMM had used Hollow Point Boat Tail (HPBT) ammunition, which offers superior stability and accuracy, instead of the tender-specified ball/lock base ammunition. This discrepancy, SSS Defence argued, gave its competitors an unfair advantage.
Despite raising the issue with CRPF authorities in late February, SSS Defence’s bid was rejected in March during the technical evaluation stage without explanation. The firm approached the Delhi High Court, which, on April 8, 2025, ruled in its favor, quashing the rejection and ordering fresh trials to ensure compliance with tender norms. Posts on X reflected public interest in the case, with one user stating, “CRPF to conduct fresh trials for the procurement of 200 Sniper Rifles & 20,000 ammunition following SSS Defence challenging the tendering process & intervention of the Delhi High Court.”
SSS Defence, a Bengaluru-based small arms manufacturer, has emerged as a key player in India’s defence sector, particularly in sniper rifle development. In 2024, the firm made history by securing a mega export contract to supply .338 Lapua Magnum sniper rifles and nearly $50 million worth of ammunition to a friendly foreign country, marking India’s first export of sniper rifles. The rifles, fully designed and manufactured in India, including their barrels, demonstrate the country’s growing expertise in precision weaponry.
The CRPF tender represents a significant opportunity for SSS Defence to supply its domestically developed sniper rifles to India’s paramilitary forces. The firm’s challenge to the tender process highlights its commitment to fair competition and underscores the competitive dynamics among Indian defence manufacturers. PLR Systems, a joint venture between Adani Defence and Israel’s Elbit Systems, and ICOMM, a Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) subsidiary, are formidable competitors, leveraging their own technological and industrial capabilities.
The Delhi High Court’s ruling not only validates SSS Defence’s grievances but also sets a precedent for accountability in defence procurement, ensuring that tender specifications are strictly adhered to. A post on X noted, “Glad SSS Defence went to Court… competitors had used diff ammo than what the CRPF had asked for and yet no action was taken.”
The .338 Lapua Magnum sniper rifles sought by the CRPF are designed for high-precision, long-range engagements, critical for neutralizing high-value targets in counter-insurgency operations. Unlike the Indian Army’s limited procurement of .50 BMG Barrett M95 and .338 Lapua Magnum Beretta Scorpio TGT rifles in 2019, the CRPF’s tender focuses on equipping its 247 battalions with advanced weaponry to counter evolving threats. The rifles must meet stringent accuracy and reliability standards across ranges of 100 to 1,000 meters, with the tender specifying ball/lock base ammunition to ensure uniformity in testing.
The use of HPBT ammunition by PLR Systems and ICOMM, which enhances ballistic performance, violated the tender’s level-playing-field principle, as SSS Defence adhered to the specified ammunition. The court’s mandate for fresh trials ensures that all bidders will be evaluated under identical conditions, reinforcing the integrity of the process.
The CRPF, with over 300,000 personnel, is India’s largest Central Armed Police Force, tasked with maintaining internal security, combating insurgency, and supporting state police in high-risk areas. Its modernization efforts have included adopting advanced weaponry, such as the Indo-Russian AK-203 rifles for the Kerala Police and testing indigenous rifles like the Trichy Assault Rifle and Joint Venture Protective Carbine (JVPC). The sniper rifle procurement is part of a broader strategy to phase out outdated systems like the INSAS rifle, which faced criticism for reliability issues, as highlighted in a 2015 Delhi High Court PIL.
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