Caracal pistol

The Caracal pistol is a series of semi-automatic pistols manufactured by Caracal International L.L.C. a subsidiary of Tawazun Holding from the United Arab Emirates. Newly arrived on a competitive market, the Caracal pistol series are the first pistols made in the United Arab Emirates.

In 2007, Tawazun Holding L.L.C. - the wholly owned subsidiary of the United Arab Emirates Offset Program Bureau (OPB) - has acquired the assets of Caracal International.

As of 2011 Caracal pistols are also manufactured in Germany by Caracal GmbH operating from Suhl in Thuringia for the European market. Caracal GmbH is a subsidiary of the German hunting rifle and shotgun manufacturer Merkel GmbH which was acquired by Caracal International L.L.C. in 2007.

Beginning of 2012, Caracal has open a subsidiary in the United States, Caracal USA.

In September, 2013, Caracal announced a recall of all C model pistols. The recall states that the pistols cannot be made safe, and will not be returned. Caracal is giving a full refund of the purchase price on all C model pistols.

In October 2013 the original Caracal pistol line was delisted by the manufacturer. The original model line was replaced by the CP660, CP661 and CP662 models that are very similar to the original Caracal F, C and SC pistol models, but feature redesigned slides.

Development
Starting in 2002, a team of European weapons designers and experts working in conjunction with the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces started the development of a range of modern pistols and accessories. The research and development team was led by the Austrian firearms designer Wilhelm Bubits who previously had designed the Steyr M pistol.

Before being put into production the Caracal pistol was evaluated through independent tests. These tests were carried out by the Federal German Armed Forces Technical Center for Weapons and Ammunition (WTD 91) in Meppen, Germany which included metallurgic and composite analysis, functional fitness-for-purpose and quality evaluation, endurance firing, environmental exposure, safety and accuracy tests. A certificate was issued by the Bundeswehr Technical Center for Weapons and Ammunition (WTD 91) in May 2006 after the pistol successfully complied with the NATO D14 standard, the German Federal Police Standard and the German Federal Armed Forces Technical Purchasing requirements. These tests are the most stringent test protocols ever devised for a service firearm.

By the end of 2006, Caracal International L.L.C .was incorporated and registered as a company in Abu Dhabi. With that, the foundation of a pistol manufacturing industry was established for the first time in the GCC.

The pistols were unveiled at the International Defence Exhibition, IDEX 2007 in Abu Dhabi.

In February 2007 25,000 Caracal F pistols in 9 mm were ordered by various armies and security forces of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The Caracal pistol is now the new service pistol of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Jordan as of April, 2008. The United Arab Emirates and Algeria established on November, 17th, 2008 a joint committee in order to test the Caracal pistol for further adoption by Algeria. The Caracal pistols were originally slated to be introduced into the European market and made available to Austrian customers in early 2009; this was rectified at the IDEX 2009 exhibition, when Caracal announced that an export line to Italy was to be started with "the first samples delivered immediately after the IDEX". The Caracal pistols have been introduced on the Italian civilian/sport shooters market during the 2009 EXA expo (Brescia, 18–21 April 2009), and are being imported by the Italian arms company Fratelli Tanfoglio S.N.C.

On 15 January 2009 Caracal received an export licence from the United States, which will enable it to ship its products to the United States. According to Caracal's commercial director Saeed Ali Al Shamsi, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives gave its approval for sales in the United States in May 2009 and the company plans to embark on a soft launch of the firearms in America in 2010 with the handguns selling for up to USD 720 (AED 2,650) in North America.

Besides the within NATO and many other militaries standard 9x19mm Parabellum chambering, the manufacturer will offer this pistol also in the 9x21mm, .357 SIG and .40 Smith & Wesson chamberings. At the IDEX 2009, the company announced that work is being carried on to manufacture the Caracal pistols in .45 ACP, and that an SCHV (small-caliber/high-velocity) ammunition, along the lines of 5.7x28mm and 4.6x30mm, is also under study for military customers.

Italy
On 9 October 2009 a briefing and shooting tests event has been held by Caracal International and Tanfoglio at the Futura Club shooting range, close to Rome, for representatives of the Italian military and law enforcement communities. Participants from the Italian police and military forces included members of the Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza, the Gruppo di Intervento Speciale, of the 17º Stormo Incursori of the Italian air force and of the 9th Parachute Assault Regiment of the Italian army, as well as representatives of the Polizia Penitenziaria, of the Guardia di Finanza, of the Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City and of the U.S. State Department from the United States Embassy in Rome.

Thailand
During Defence & Security 2009 (4–5 November 2009) in Thailand, a demonstration has been held on a local range where members of the armed forces, law enforcement and International Practical Shooting Confederation shooters have tested and evaluated the different models.

France
On 18 and 19 November 2009 a demonstration has been held during the Milipol 2009 exhibition in Paris. A group of representatives from the French police and their tactical units, Swiss police, German police, NATO forces and EU diplomatic security agents attended a briefing and presentation of the Caracal line of products. Caracal made 40 pistols and an unlimited supply of ammunition available to members of the specialized press and French law enforcement community members for testing on a nearby shooting range in Issy-les-Moulineaux.

United States
Currently imported by Steyr Arms, Trussville, Alabama. Formerly imported by Waffen Werks in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Features
The Caracal is a fully ambidextrous polymer framed pistol that features an ergonomically designed grip with a rounded butt and a grip angle of 111°. The lower forward edge of the frame has a mounting-bracket or rail interface system for mounting accessories. The pistol's low slide profile design holds the pistol barrel axis close to the shooter's hand and makes the pistols more comfortable to shoot by reducing muzzle rise and allows faster aim recovery in rapid shooting sequence. This low bore axis principle is also found in the Glock and Steyr M pistols.

The metal slide guide rails are designed to be as long as possible to promote stability, by reducing torsion and flexing of the grip frame, during firing and a close fit between the slide and grip frame for plenty direct mechanical interaction between the slide and grip frame. Furthermore, the rails being part of the frame sub assembly that bears all internals, it is easier to assemble the mechanism for manufacturing or disassemble for maintenance and replacement.

The pistols have a fully supported chamber and fixed iron sights featuring straight- straight-eight pattern contrast enhancements of which the front element can be adjusted for windage. The unadjustbale rear sight element is an integral part of the firing pin unit and can only be changed by exchanging the entire firing pin unit. The pistols can be supplied with grip inserts in several distinctive colours (black, gray, green, blue and orange) that can be used for identification purposes. The grip size can not be adjusted with these grip inserts.

The metal parts receive a proprietary "Plasox" plasma-based nitriding with an enclosed post-oxidizing surface treatment producing a protective coating resistant to aggressive environmental conditions. The manufacturer claims that this proprietary protective layer method is relatively environmental friendly, is very durable and protects well against rust.

There are however also two-tone Caracal pistols available with bright metal slides that did not receive the "Plasox" plasma-based nitriding surface treatment.

According to the manufacturer the 28 parts and components these pistols are made of are interchangeable for easy production and maintenance. A take-down lever allows the pistol to be disassembled without tools by the user.

The pistol is supplied with two box magazines and a user manual, packed in a plastic carry case.

Operating mechanism
The Caracal is a striker fired semi-automatic pistol, meaning the trigger system is of the hammerless short double action only type. A cocking indicator below the rear sight indicates visibly and tactilely if the pistol is cocked and ready to fire. The trigger travel is 8 mm with a trigger pull of 22 N.

Safety
The pistol features a triple safety system that secures the weapon against accidental discharge and consists of three independent safety mechanisms: an external integrated trigger safety and two automatic internal safeties – a firing pin safety and a drop safety.

The pistol has a loaded chamber indicator in the form of a witness opening at the rear of the chamber that allows the user to see from the top side of the slide if a cartridge is present in the chamber.

Ammunition feeding
The double column type box magazine is released by an ambidextrous magazine release.

Accessories
Available factory accessories include a rigid shoulder stock, a tactical front grip which can be fitted to the optical mounting-bracket on the lower forward edge of the frame, a key-locking system to provide additional gun security when the pistol is not in use, a fibre glass front-sight insert, "gutter pattern" quick sights, self-luminous tritium powered low light sights, magazine loader and optical aiming sight mounting bracket.

A custom made modular holster has been designed by Sandro Amadini. Ghost International modular system holster's unique patented retention system GSS (Ghost Safety System) has been adapted to Caracal pistols. The innovative Ghost modular system with its various base plates allowing high ride, medium ride, tactical ride carry as well as concealed carry enhances and complements Caracal pistols qualities.

Variants


The pistol is available in 3 variants of which the Caracal F is the basic full-size variant.

The Caracal C is simply a more compact (reduced length and height) variant of the Caracal F.

The Caracal SC has been introduced at the IDEX 2009 exhibition on 22 February 2009. The SC model has a reduced length, height and width and is technically somewhat different compared to the other Caracal pistols. The manufacturer markets the SC model as a primary weapon for government professionals who must conceal a handgun for job related situations, or as a secondary back up pistol. According to Caracal's managing director Hamad Khalifa Al Neyadiof, the new SC sub-compact model has fewer cross pins giving a smooth surface, allowing for a more efficient assembly and a better quality build. The SC model can also use the larger detachable box magazines of the C and F models, giving a magazine capacity of up to 18 rounds of 9 mm ammunition. According to Jane's the SC model has a separate safety switch located beneath the trigger guard, rather than on the trigger itself. A special grip adapter that has been developed for the Caracal SC has to be used for using the larger magazines from other 9 mm Caracal weapons. The SC model also has a solid synthetic striker, resulting in reduced manufacturing costs and a very smooth action. The synthetic unit will be introduced to the F and C series later in 2009. The SC magazines are offered with a standard flat bottom or a slightly developed magazine with a finger rest for extra grip. The Caracal SC will be available to commercial users by fall 2012.

A version of the Caracal adapted to high velocity ammunition like the 4.6x30mm used in the Heckler & Koch MP7 and the 5.7x28mm used in the FN P90 and the FN Five Seven would be under development. This could be linked to the desire for a neighbouring country to adopt either the H&K MP7 or the FN P90 personal defense weapon.

Recall
On Sept. 9th, 2013 a recall was issued for all model C pistols made by Caracal stating:

''Caracal is now issuing this recall of all Model C pistols in all markets, following the completion of a full investigation. Caracal is initiating this voluntary recall of Model C pistols because the safety of its customers is paramount. ''

This recall affects all Model C pistols, including but not limited to those with serial numbers which start with the following letters: HM, AA, AD, AG, CA, CB, CC, CD, CE, CF, CG, CH, CI, CJ, CK, CL, CM, CN, CP, CR and CS.

''If you own or have access to a Caracal Model C pistol, PLEASE DO NOT LOAD OR FIRE YOUR PISTOL. Please contact Caracal customer care immediately to arrange to have your Model C pistol returned. Caracal will provide you with a full refund of the purchase price of your Caracal Model C pistol or vouchers for other Caracal products. Unfortunately, the potential safety issues cannot be addressed through a repair of the Model C pistol and all Model C pistols must be returned for refund.''

Users

 * Abu Dhabi
 * 🇧🇭 Bahrain: Purchased a quantity of 5,000.
 * Dubai
 * 🇯🇴 Jordan
 * 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates: A quantity of 10,000 was purchased by the Armed Forces.