Truvelo and Braddick partner to market sniper rifles

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Truvelo Armoury Division and Braddick Defence Systems have announced that they will join forces to market their products to the African defence market, and will launch a range of Braddick sniper rifles.

Truvelo will design and manufacture a range of sniper rifles for the Braddick Sniper Division. This range of weapons will be known as the Braddick Mk V range, specifically for military applications. The lineup will be officially revealed early next year.

Truvelo Armoury began manufacturing barrels and rifles in 1994. The company currently fields anti-material rifles (AMRs) in four calibres, including 12.7 x 99 mm, 14.5 x 114 mm, 20 x 82 mm and 20 x 110 mm Hispano. Truvelo’s anti-personnel rifle (APR) series is available in 7.62 x 51 mm and .338 Lapua calibres.

Braddick Defence Systems is divided into four specialised divisions, namely BSAS International (Aviation, which focuses mainly on re-engining DC-3s), Braddick Sniper Division (Sniper Systems), Braddick Robotics Division (UAVs) and Braddick Security Division (Consulting and Human Resources).

Braddick and Truvelo hope their joint marketing efforts will expand their product ranges into Africa and even the United States. Truvelo has not been overly active in Africa due to the specialist nature of its products, which are produced in relatively low volumes.

Alexa Gerrard, head of sales and marketing at Truvelo, said that Braddick approached Truvelo and became involved in the company mid-year. Truvelo and Braddick for the first time jointly marketed their products at the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2012 exhibition outside Pretoria last week.

Ralf Gebert, Truvelo Armoury Division Director, said that his company was busy with lots of work and was at full production capacity. The 7.62 x 51 mm, .338 Lapua and 12.7 x 99 mm rounds were the hottest sellers for the civilian and military market, he said. Most of Truvelo’s orders come from the defence sector, but civil demand is needed to balance out the defence side, which can be erratic in terms of orders.

Adam McCallum, Chairman and CEO of the Braddick Group, told defenceWeb that his company’s main focus is on converting DC-3s to turboprop power, but it is also doing research and development on a quadrocopter unmanned aerial vehicle with a range of around 80 km. A prototype is under construction. The company is also working with local missile and UAV house Denel Dynamics.