India has placed a repeat order of 73,000 SiG Sauer assault or battlefield rifles from the US as part of its emergency procurement. It will add to the 72,400 such guns purchased earlier for all the armed forces amid the continuing military stand-off with China along the eastern Ladakh.
The SiG-716 ‘Patrol’ rifles, which are 7.62X51mm caliber guns with an effective ‘kill’ range of 500-meter, are meant for infantry battalions deployed along the borders with China and Pakistan. The repeat order valued at Rs 837 crore. The Ministry of Defence had given the nod for procurement for the additional 73,000 SiG-716 rifles in December last year.
In February 2019, the Indian government contracted SiG Sauer Inc., US, for 72,400 SiG 716 rifles. Of these, 66,400 rifles were designated for the Army, 4,000 for the Air Force, and 2,000 for the Navy under the ‘Buy (Global)’ category. The contract, valued at Rs 647 crore, was fast-tracked through the fast-track procedure (FTP). Due to delays in manufacturing the Russian AK-203 Kalashnikov rifles in India, the initial batch of rifles was imported from the US. According to defence sources, the decision to procure a fresh lot of rifles was driven by the weapon’s performance, as it was deemed crucial to ensure operational necessity, commonality, and functionality of associated logistics.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army received the first batch of 35,000 AK-203 rifles earlier this year. These rifles were assembled at the Korwa ordnance factory in the Amethi district of Uttar Pradesh under the joint venture called Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited. Over the next ten years, the Korwa factory aims to manufacture six lakh AK-203 rifles with a 7.62X39mm caliber and an effective range of 300 meters. These rifles are intended to meet the overall needs of the over 12 million-strong Army, IAF, and Navy. The AK-203 project, initially announced in 2018, faced significant delays due to issues such as cost, royalty, technology transfer, and indigenisation level.
The military emphasizes that rifles of U.S. origin have a longer effective range, greater lethality, and higher recoil compared to the indigenous INSAS (5.56X51mm) or AK-203 rifles. The Army states that it has been using ammunition produced by Indian ordnance factories for the SiG-716 rifles.
Team BharatShakti
