SITES

SITES was founded in the 1980s and later designed a submachine gun that would be regarded as the best on the market for use by police forces and counterterrorist organizations. After studying various other submachine guns currently on the market, two engineers named Claudio Gritti and Roberto Teppa designed what would become the company’s first product, the SITES Spectre. The weapon was put on the market in 1984, although a notable lack of demand for the weapon led to the company redesigning the weapon.

SITES would continue marketing the weapon after its redesign, in addition to designing a version of the weapon for civilian use, known as the HC in an attempt to capitalize on the civilian market. The weapon was briefly exported to the United States, although the introduction of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban in 1994 put pay to any form of exportation of what would be considered an “assault pistol”, with the Spectre HC being considered one. The company was later closed in 1997.

After SITES closed, the company was acquired by Swiss company Greco Sport. Greco Sport continued assembling Spectre HCs until 2001; SITES’ parent company would itself be liquidated in 2006 owing to bankruptcy