A $15 million deal of supplying Pakistan with precision rifles was refused by a Utah-based gun manufacturer company, giving the reason of its usage eventually against U.S. troops.
Mike Davis, sales manager at Desert Tech, said the company was on a short list for a contract with Pakistan, but refused the deal because of the disturbance in Pakistan and ethical concerns.
The amount of money involved made the decision difficult, he said, and the sale of rifles to Pakistan would have been legal.
“We don’t know that those guns would’ve gone somewhere bad, but with the unrest we just ended up not feeling right about it,” he said.
The company founded in 2007 is based in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City. The principle of the company is keeping America and its allies safe, he added.
“As a business owner you always want to be successful, but I think ethically and morally you want to go about it the right way and stick behind your founding principles,” Davis said.
The al-Qaida presence can make the deal complicated. This is a great reason for refusing the deal as weapons sales to Pakistan are nothing new. The U.S. often targets al-Qaida, Taliban and their Pakistani supporters in the country’s tribal regions.
“I’ve got to admire Desert Tech for potentially turning down what could have been a very lucrative contract in the interest of protecting American service members,” said Col. Steven R. Watt of the Utah National Guard.
The rifles can change caliber within minutes and have the capacity to shoot as far as 3,000 yards.
Desert Tech, formerly known as Desert Tactical Arms, has had military contracts with other countries but declined to provide us with any detail.
