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British defence company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Imperial Defence Services Ltd was a British based, privately owned firearms manufacturer. Born in 1947, Mick Ranger ran Imperial Defence Services, which was based in the Essex village of Takeley. His firm had operations in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Nigeria, Australia, South Africa and Vietnam.[2] The company website stated:
Apart from countless transactions involving small arms in general, we have completed transactions for Surface to Air Missiles, Anti-tank weapons and a large quantity of Missile Warhead Fuses, Rifle Grenades and Heavy Machine Guns.
— Imperial Defence Services Website[3]
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Founded | 1980s |
Fate | Non-operational as of 2012, dissolved March 2023 |
Headquarters | Frogs Hall, Bambers Green[1], , |
Products | Small arms, Missile |
The website did not quote prices, although it is claimed that it previously stated the company sold grenade-launchers for £450, and a collection of rifles from £195 to a £20,000 General Electric Minigun.[2]
The firm legally sold rifles to the shooter involved in the Hungerford massacre.[2]
Mick Ranger, the owner of the company, was arrested in July 2012 to three-and-a-half years imprisonment for setting up a deal to sell missiles and handguns to Azerbaijan, a country which has had an arms export ban since 1992.[4][5] From this point, Imperial Defence Services remained largely inactive, before officially dissolving in March 2023.[6]
The parts were made in Vietnam and assembled in Britain at their factory in Sheffield.
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