In a recent briefing for journalists at its Marikina City production facility, officials of the company that was originally founded in 1905 said its new firearm — dubbed “Torch” — will be based on the popular AR platform on which the widely used M16 assault rifle and M4 carbine are based.
More importantly, several Armscor officials told InsiderPH that the rifle will be priced “below P100,000” in the local market once it is officially launched during the Tactical Survival and Arms (TACS) Expo later this month.
“It will be a very attractive price point,” said one company official, requesting anonymity because the price has yet to be officially announced. “It will be much cheaper than other 5.56 rifles currently on the market.”
The officials explained that prices of other semi-automatic rifles that fire the 5.56 mm round had spiked significantly in recent weeks after the Philippine National Police announced that it was relaxing rules to allow civilians to own these higher powered firearms.
Other competing brands sell similarly chambered rifles for anywhere between P150,000 to over P400,000 per unit.
In an interview, Armscor deputy CEO Gina Angangco said the company will offer two versions of the Torch rifle: one variant having a full-length barrel for sport shooting and another with a shorter barrel ideal for home defense.
She added that Armscor will also produce an automatic version which will be offered to the military as part of the firm’s long running advocacy of helping the country achieve a better measure of self sufficiency in the defense industry.
“I believe [the need will be] quite substantial,” she said.
“But more important than the market is that we've seen that we really cannot depend on outside [suppliers during emergency situations],” she said, pointing to the company’s experience with the Marawi siege where it had to step in to provide the military with ammunition amid delivery delays from foreign suppliers.
Senior Reporter
