SOCOM solicitation for ‘reverse engineered’ foreign weapons sparks Russian anger, warnings
These are unlicensed copies. Russkies not happy!
...the solicitation is more than a year old and portions of the contract have already been awarded.
In a Small Business Innovation Research solicitation from April 2017, SOCOM asked American businesses “to explore whether it is feasible to reverse engineer or reengineer and domestically produce” a 7.62 x 54mm belt-fed light machine gun that resembles a PKM, and a 12.7 x 108mm heavy machine gun that resembles a Russian-designed NSV.
SOCOM confirmed to Military Times that contracts for the first phase, the research portion, of the solicitation have already been awarded to Dillon Aero Inc., Knight’s Armament Company, and McNally Industries. SOCOM said the second phase, to demonstrate a production capacity, is already underway. Those contracts have yet to be awarded.
The command wants to build the production base in the U.S. to better supply surrogate forces, according to the solicitation.
“Foreign made weapons lack interchangeability and standardization which hinders field and depot-level part replacement,” the solicitation reads. “Developing a domestic production capability for foreign-like weapons addresses these issues while being cost effective as well as strengthens the nation’s military-industrial complex, ensures a reliable and secure supply chain, and reduces acquisition lead times.”
These are unlicensed copies. Russkies not happy!