- Lt Col Prasad Bansod, who hails from Nagpur, has designed it and Armament Research and Development Establishment has developed it in a record time of 4 months
- ‘Asmi’ likely to find ‘huge employability’ with Central and State police organisations, VIP protection duties and policing, and has export potential
Finally, India has got her first indigenously developed 9 mm machine pistol in ‘Asmi’. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Army have jointly developed it. It is a matter of pride for Nagpur that the pistol ‘Asmi’ has been designed and developed by Lt Col Prasad Bansod, who hails from the city. Lt Col Prasad Bansod, who is currently posted at Infantry School, Mhow, is son of Anil and Anjali Bansod, who are both retired teachers of Kendriya Vidyalaya. His parents reside in Narendra Nagar, Nagpur. His elder sister is a dentist and stays abroad. The idea of indigenously developed machine pistol first struck Lt Col Prasad Bansod six months ago. After much brainstorming and keeping in mind the needs of Indian forces, he came up with the design of ‘Asmi’ (Pride).
Once the design was ready, he got in touch with Armament Research and Development Establishment of DRDO, at Pune. The pistol was made in a matter of four months, under ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives of the Central Government. The machine pistol can fire 9 mm bullets up to 100 metres. It has 8-inch barrel and packs 33-round magazine. The empty weight of the pistol is under 2 kgs, that is, it is lightweight. It is smaller than pistol and bigger than carbine. The significance of this indigenous machine pistol can be understood from the fact that it would reduce the country’s expenditure on procurement of such equipment by 50 to 70 per cent. The likely production cost of ‘Asmi’ is Rs 50,000/- per unit only.
In an official release issued on Thursday, Ministry of Defence stated that India’s first indigenous 9 mm machine pistol was jointly developed by DRDO and Indian Army. “Infantry School, Mhow, and DRDO’s Armament Research and Development Establishment, Pune, have designed and developed this weapon using their respective expertise in the complementary areas. The weapon has been developed in a record time of four months,” stated the press release. The machine pistol fires the in-service 9 mm ammunition and sports an upper receiver made from aircraft-grade Aluminium and lower receiver from carbon fibre. 3D Printing process has been used in designing and prototyping of various parts including trigger components made by metal 3D printing.
As per the official press release, the weapon has huge potential in the Armed Forces as personal weapon for heavy weapon detachments, commanders, tank and aircraft crews, drivers/dispatch riders, radio/radar operators, Closed Quarter Battle, counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations etc. ‘Asmi’ is also likely to find ‘huge employability’ with the Central and State police organisations as well as VIP protection duties and policing, the release stated. The machine pistol has potential for exports too. “Keeping the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Aatmnirbhar Bharat’ in view, this small step will pave way for self-reliance and it is expected that the Services and Paramilitary Forces will induct this expeditiously,” stated Ministry of Defence.
