RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Austrian manufacturer Glock has won an international bid from the São Paulo State Police and is to supply forty thousand semiautomatic .40-caliber pistols to the department.
The initial estimate was to pay up to R$2,000 (US$500) for each firearm. But after 28 rounds of bidding, Glock made the best offer with a price of R$891.66, qualifying in first place.
The purchase is expected to save R$53 million to the public coffers, according to the department’s Center for Military Material, when compared to the most recent purchase.
The last purchase of Taurus pistols, in 2011, cost the State Police R$1,901 each. According to officials heard by the report, in the past, the police had already paid around R$5,000 for a weapon, the market price for individual purchases.
Dispute
In addition to Glock, Italian Beretta and Turkish manufacturer Canik also took part in the bid. Brazilian arms manufacturer Taurus did not take part in the dispute. Currently, the manufacturer is the subject of administrative and judicial proceedings by the State Police of São Paulo and other states, for flaws in pistols and submachine guns, but there are no restrictions on its participation in bids.
Beretta’s initial proposal was R$1,727.55 for each pistol, while Glock’s initial proposal was around R$1,988. Canik was not accredited due to documentation errors.
The public bid sessions, held on Wednesday, August 21st, was suspended after the final bid. Glock will have ten days, after the result has been published in the Federal Gazette, to submit samples to be used to perform equipment quality tests.
The G1 news site asked Glock to comment on the competition and is awaiting feedback.
More purchases
In addition to the 40,000 .40 caliber pistols, the São Paulo State Police will also purchase 1,300 rifles caliber 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm, two sniper rifles and ten light machine guns with a 7.62 mm barrel diameter.
The equipment will be delivered by the end of 2020 and will cost a total of R$108.9 million.