Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal Visits Viking Arms in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
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October 04, 2024 09:54 AM Eastern Daylight Time
On Tuesday 1st October, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited Viking Arms, a leading supplier of defence equipment to UK police and military forces. During the visit, The Princess Royal officially opened Viking Arms’ new warehouse facility, toured the company’s state-of-the-art facilities, and met with staff members to learn about their contributions to the UK defence industry.
Welcomed by Managing Director Sam Macarthur and members of the founding family, The Princess Royal began her tour with a presentation about the company’s operations. Viking Arms specialises in developing, supplying, and distributing advanced defence technology and equipment to the UK police, military, and gun trade. Additionally, the company provides expert firearms training and education.
During the tour, Her Royal Highness was shown the company's new licensed warehouse, equipped for the storage of ammunition, firearms, and section 5 prohibited weapons. The Princess Royal saw Viking Arms' advanced Counter UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) technologies, such as the SMASH Smart Weapon Sight Fire Control System, which are currently being adopted by Very High Readiness units across the British Military, and Flex Force’s DroneBuster, a handheld electronic attack defeat solution approved by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Her Royal Highness also took part in a live demonstration with Rich Fell, Viking Arms’ Glock armourer and specialist firearms trainer. The demonstration showcased the disassembly of the Glock 17 Gen 4, the standard sidearm used by British Armed Forces since 2013.
Throughout the visit, The Princess Royal met staff from various departments, discussing Viking Arms' dedication to meeting the evolving needs of the UK defence industry. By maintaining close relationships with end-users in the police and military, Viking Arms influences the design and functionality of many of the products it distributes today.
In addition to officially opening the new warehouse, The Princess Royal presented an award to long-serving employee Janet Dinsdale, in recognition of her 47 years of service. The visit concluded with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion.
Managing Director Sam Macarthur expressed her pride in the visit:
“We were deeply honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness to Viking Arms. It was a privilege for the entire Viking family, including our founder Mrs Brown, to share our journey with Princess Anne. The Princess Royal took the time to engage with our team, showing genuine interest in how we support the British military and police with cutting-edge defence technology. We are incredibly grateful for her visit.”
About Viking Arms
Founded in 1965 by the late Geoffrey Brown, Viking Arms has grown from a small family business into one of the UK’s leading distributors of firearms, ammunition, optics, and accessories. Viking Arms operates in two key divisions: Defence and Sporting. The company is a proud signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant and a recipient of the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Employer Recognition Scheme silver award.
For more information on Viking Arms and our services, visit www.vikingarms.com.
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Meredyth Grant
