Jammu, Nov 22 (IANS): General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-n-C) Lt General M.V.Suchindra Kumar of Army’s Udhampur-headquartered Northern Command on Friday reviewed the indigenously developed ‘Asmi’ machine pistols which were recently inducted into the army.

Asmi’ is a short form of ‘Asmita’, a Sanskrit word meaning pride, self-respect and hard work.

“This is the first batch of the 100 per cent Indian-made weapon intended to equip Special Forces for close-quarter battles and specialised operations in India's Northern Theatre,” an army official said.

He said that the induction of the ‘Made in India’ weapon highlights the unwavering commitment of the Indian Army to Atmanirbhar Bharat.

“Asmi machine pistols have been developed by Colonel Prasad Bansod of the Indian Army in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The weapon is being manufactured indigenously by Lokesh Machines Limited in Hyderabad,” the official said.

He said that the pistol's unique semi-bullpup design allows for single-handed operation functioning both as a pistol and a submachine gun.

“This machine pistol features an eight-inch barrel and a 33-round magazine firing 9mm ammunition. Army said the machine pistol is set to arm the Special Forces for close-quarter battles and specialised operations in the Northern Command,” the army official said.

Earlier, the army also inducted 550 Asmi machine pistols into the northern command. The Udhampur headquartered northern command of the army controls the operations/deployment in J&K and the Ladakh UTs.