Just six days after President Gustavo Petro presented the Jaguar rifle, produced by the Military Industry (Indumil), the weapon experienced failures. The president had participated on May 8 in the official presentation ceremony of the rifle, which had been seen as the closing or consolidation of a project that had begun in 2020.
On May 14, during a controlled shooting exercise at the firing range of the Shooting School at the Tolemaida Military Fort (in Melgar, Tolima), an explosion apparently occurred in the chamber of a Jaguar rifle while it was undergoing operational testing. The incident, however, only came to light in recent hours.
Although the country understood that, because it was President Petro who made the official presentation, the weapon had already passed the different testing stages, Indumil reported that “during the development of the tests, in two of the rifles evaluated there was an uncontrolled release of gases associated with non-optimal mechanical locking conditions.”
Two military personnel affected by explosion in Jaguar rifle
It also confirmed, without giving further details, that two uniformed personnel were affected in the incident. “The technician and the noncommissioned officer involved in the incident involving these two rifles received medical evaluation at the Unit dispensary, where asepsis procedures were carried out without additional effects, and only superficial injuries were confirmed in one of the participants, with no further impact on his integrity.”
The radio station Caracol Radio reported that the mishap left two members of the public force injured by shrapnel in their hands, arms, and face, and that one of them was transferred to the CENAE dispensary for medical evaluation. “According to the information known, both affected individuals are stable and out of danger,” it specified.
Indumil added that the technical analysis it carried out “makes it possible to establish that the recorded events are associated with adjustments to the barrel locking and securing system, aspects inherent to the validation and technical strengthening phase of a development of this nature.”
Another point reported by Indumil is that the development phases of the Jaguar rifle “will continue until full compliance with the technical, operational, and safety specifications defined for the system is guaranteed, with the permanent priority being the safety of the Public Force personnel who will be responsible for its operation in fulfillment of the constitutional mission.”
The Jaguar rifle developed by Indumil is part of the strengthening of the country’s technological and industrial defense capabilities. The Colombian Army uses the Israeli-made Galil rifle, but President Petro broke relations with that country, reducing the possibilities of spare parts and technical assistance for the maintenance of those weapons.
The jaguar represents strength, precision, adaptation
The project began in 2020, when experts from the Army, Navy, Colombian Aerospace Force, and Police consolidated the operational requirements for the creation of a rifle designed and produced in Colombia.
Since then, Indumil carried out different stages of design, validation, and manufacturing that included conceptual development, prototype production, technical and operational testing, integration of advanced materials, and structuring of industrial manufacturing processes.
In 2021, the conceptual design of the weapon was developed; in 2022, resin prototypes were made and the manufacture of metal parts began; in 2023, functional prototypes were consolidated through the integration of machined components and 3D-printed parts; in 2024, the transition toward industrial manufacturing began with the contracting of molds for polymer components; and in 2025, new validations were carried out with the participation of the Military Forces and the National Police.
According to Indumil, the Jaguar rifle incorporates improvements over the Galil ACE system, among them an approximate 15% reduction in weight, greater ergonomics, modularity, ease of maintenance and operational adaptation, as well as greater resistance under extreme conditions.
While the Galil ACE system is composed mainly of steel, the new Colombian rifle incorporates nearly 65% high-resistance polymers, making it possible to reduce the weapon’s weight and improve mobility and resistance to corrosion.
In addition, the national development of components and the industrial efficiencies achieved would make it possible to project a cost nearly 20% lower than equivalent imported systems, contributing to the strengthening of national industry and the optimization of public resources.
The name Jaguar was chosen after a national call in which citizens from different regions of the country participated. According to Indumil, this animal represents strength, precision, adaptation, and connection with American territory and nature, in addition to being an ancestral symbol of several Indigenous peoples of the continent.