Pindad SS3

Pindad SS3 History

As unrest in the Southeast Asian region of the world intensifies, it is natural for the military to grow. The Indonesian nation has long relied on foreign suppliers to stockpile its military stocks, but has now turned to tap its burgeoning defense network. As a result, the Indonesian government purchased thousands of Belgian Fabrique Nationale FN FNC assault rifles.

This then became the licensed production of the slightly modified "SS1" series, which in turn became the improved SS2 series of automatic weapons. The Indonesian military also relies on the M16 assault rifle. All are gas-powered firearms with standard 5.56x45mm NATO cartridges.

The operational use and production of the described system naturally allowed Indonesian engineers to formulate their own ideas to improve the concept of an assault rifle "in-house".

With SS1 now an upcoming product and SS2 gradually replacing it in numbers, PT Pindad has pushed the development of SS2 towards a "bullpup" configured attack system. The bullpup configuration is the latest firearm craze that has grown steadily in various military applications since then. The bullpup arrangement basically moves the magazine feed to the rear of the weapon and integrates it into the inventory. The resulting designs are typically shorter than conventionally constructed assault rifles, while still being able to fit the full-length barrel in a more compact housing. Experts point out that the bullpup automatic weapon's advantage is an improvement over several concepts not found in traditional rifle designs.

One of such advantages is the portability and relatively light nature of the bullpup. The operator can also bring the weapon close to his/her body, which improves melee combat to a certain extent. However, purists believe that automatic fire suffers from the significantly elevated muzzle and in most cases the ejection port is dangerously close to the operator's face, which is largely beneficial for right-handed firefighters member.

Regardless, the bullpup configuration is becoming more common in the world's militaries - a marked departure from the gun norms that began at the end of World War II.

With this in mind, the Bullpup SS3 is intended as a standard assault rifle and is currently in the final stages of development. In limited production from 2012, the SS3 largely retains the features of the previous SS2 series. It is equipped with a NATO standard 5.56x45mm cartridge, using a pneumatic rotating breech action while being fed from a STANAG magazine.

A Picatinny rail system is mounted on top of the receiver for the use of attachments and scopes. However, traditional adjustable iron sights are standard. It remains to be seen how popular and successful the SS3 will be with the Indonesian military and the export market in general.

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