Pindad SS1 - WikiHQ

The SS1 (short for , ) is the standard assault rifle of the Indonesian armed forces and Indonesian National Police. It is based on the FN FNC rifle, but modified in order to meet ergonomic and tropical environment needs.

The assault rifle is a gas-operated automatic carbine with a foldable butt and is designed to meet NATO standards. The SS1 is a high performance light individual weapon that has been used by the Indonesian armed forces, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as police. It was adopted into Indonesian service in 1991.

It is currently being phased out and replaced by the Pindad SS2. The SS1 would possibly be used by reserve or paramilitary forces when the SS2 is fully adopted into service.

The SS1 is manufactured by PT Pindad, Bandung, Indonesia, under license from Fabrique Nationale, Belgium.

History

In 1976 from experience gained in the field, an idea to create a new assault rifle to replace the existing standard issue or SP series battle rifle surfaced. In 1977 a prototype dubbed SS-77 () was born. The SS-77 assault rifle design and operating system were based on the ArmaLite AR-18, with a gas-operated, rotating bolt mechanism. It has a magazine capacity of 30 rounds chambered in 5.56x45 mm caliber with Safe-Semi-Auto firing modes. The SS-77 assault rifle design includes both a standard long-barreled version and a carbine (short-barreled) variant with a folding stock. In 1978, 150 prototypes with foldable stock were produced, of which 30 were sent to the Army Research and Development Service (Dislitbangad) for testing purposes.

In 1979, the SS-77 was further developed using 7.62x51mm ammunition, resulting in the SS-79 (). The Indonesian Army (TNI AD) and the Department of Defense and Security () intended to adopt it as the standard infantry rifle, replacing the SP-1 as previously planned. However, due to considerations issued by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) in 1982, the decision was not to produce it from scratch due to a lengthy timeframe and high research and development costs.

Under the order of the Chief of Staff of the Army in May 1978, the Commanding General (Danjen) of the Education and Training Development Command (Kobangdiklat) formed a trial team consisting of related elements, namely: On 23 August 1978, Indonesia invited the US to negotiate regarding the use of the weapon. As a result, the US said that Indonesia could only produce 150,000 M16A1s, and not all components could be made in Indonesia, such as the trigger housing, munitions, upper and lower mechanical housings, and barrel. The Indonesian government, in response, made preparations to form a special agency to handle all overseas trade. The Ministry of State Enterprises conducted an investigation against Pindad over the seizure of its firearms.

Design

The external looks of the SS1s are strongly similar to the FN FNC, ranging from the pistol grip to the stock, receiver and barrel. Optics can be mounted onto the SS1 rifles, but a special optic mount must be installed first. Most SS1 rifle models, with the exception of the SBC-1, are made with selective fire modes that consist of single, three round burst and full auto firing modes.

SS1-V2

thumb|SS1-V2

The carbine variant with shorter barrel. Has overall length of and empty weight of .

SS1-V3

thumb|Two Indonesian Army guards in Bali equipped with SS1-V3

Standard barrel with fixed stock.

SS1-V4

The designated marksman rifle variant

SS1-R5 Raider

:A sub-variant of SS1-V5 called SS1-R5 is designed for mainly special units within the Indonesian Military such as the special infantry Battalion Raiders and other units such as Kostrad or Kopassus. The SS1-R5 is a lighter and slimmer design which doesn't sacrifice high accuracy. Designed for special forces operations such as infiltration, short distance contact in jungle, mountain, marsh, sea and urban warfare.

SS1-M1/M2/M5

thumb|SS1-M2

The modified SS1 intended for the Indonesian Marine Corps. SS1-M2, with a shorter barrel and folding stock and SS1-M5 Commando.

SB1-V1/V2

thumb|SB1-V1

A variant created for Indonesian police Sabhara unit use. It's the only rifle in the SS1 series chambered in proprietary 7.62×45mm cartridge (a necked-up version of the 5.56×45mm cartridge, utilizing a round-nose bullet similar to the .30 Carbine) created by PT Pindad for law enforcement conditions. The SB1 series has Safe, Single, and 3-round burst firing options. The SB1-V1 has a barrel length of , overall length of , and empty weight of . The SB1-V2 has a barrel length of , overall length of , and empty weight of .

SBC-1

thumb|Indonesian customs with SBC-1

A variant of the SS1-V5 with semi-automatic mode only, made specifically for Indonesian customs as the rifle is named "Senapan Bea Cukai" (Indonesian: Customs & Excise Rifle). Firstly introduced during SHOT Show 2024 on 23–26 January 2024 at Venetian Expo & Caesars Forum, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.

Users

thumb|[[Indonesian Marines practice firing Pindad SS1-M1s at a shooting range in CARAT 2010.]]

: Exported in 1991.
: Komando Pasukan Katak (Kopaska) tactical diver group and Komando Pasukan Khusus (Kopassus) special forces group. Used by the Indonesian military and police.
: Purchased 35 SS1 V2 and 35 SS1 V4 assault rifles in 2014.
: Confiscated by Philippine customs officials when a ship bound to Mali, passing by the Philippines to deliver 10 P2 pistols, was raided after arriving in Philippine waters. The Malian government had ordered 100 SS-1V1 rifles. According to Fernandino Tuason of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, he had received credible information that certain politicians were planning to use the weapons, mostly Galils, for destabilization efforts for the presidential elections scheduled to be held in 2010. Pindad officials have explained the misunderstanding since the SS1 rifles are not Galils. The Manila Bulletin has been the only media outlet to check that the Galils are not Galil rifles, but SS1s. In addition, they are presenting evidence that the small arms shipment is legal. It's suggested that a gun-running syndicate is the culprit for getting Indonesian-made weapons to the Philippines. According to further investigation, end user certificates issued by Indonesia were faked.
East Indonesia Mujahideen
Maute Group