User trial of the Joint Venture Protective Carbine. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said on Monday that a Carbine — 5.56×30 mm Joint Venture Protective Carbine (JVPC) — designed by its Pune-based facility has undergone its final phase of user trials, paving the way for its induction into services. During its extensive trials, the weapon has proved its efficacy in both extreme summer temperatures and winter conditions in high altitudes, said the DRDO. The JVPC is a gas-operated semi bullpup-type automatic weapon, which has more than 700 rounds per minute rate of fire. The carbine has been designed as per the Indian Army’s General Staff Qualitative Requirements (GSQRs), by the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), a Pune-based facility of the DRDO. The weapon is manufactured at the Small Arms Factory, Kanpur, while the ammunition is manufactured at the Ammunition Factory, Khadki (AFK) in Pune.