Govt signs mega Rs 700-crore deal to buy 72,000 modern rifles for Indian Army

The SIG716 7.62×51 mm assault rifle will be supplied by US arms maker Sig Sauer. The rifles will be made in the United States and will be supplied within a year

HIGHLIGHTS

• Army has been looking for a modern gun for its soldiers for around a decade
• Sig Sauer was selected last year after it submitted a winning bid
• The rifles are being procured under fast track procurement

The Indian government has signed a contract to equip the Indian Army with new assault rifles. The deal, which will see India buy around 72,400 rifles, will overhaul the army’s inventory of frontline rifles.

The rifles will be supplied by US arms maker Sig Sauer. The rifles will be made in the United States and will be supplied within a year since the contract for the new guns is being made under fast-track procurement (FTP).

The deal is for 72,400 rifles and costs around Rs 700 crore. A majority of these rifles — 66,000 — are for the Indian Army. The remaining will be divided between the Indian Navy (2,000) and the Indian Air Force (4,000).

The Sig Sauer SIG716 7.62×51 mm assault rifles will replace the ageing, Indian-made 5.56x45mm Insas rifles.

The deal to purchase 72,400 Sig Sauer rifles is among the biggest in recent years. The Indian Army has been trying to buy a modern rifle for nearly a decade now.

At the same time, the army changed the specifics of the kind of rifle it wanted, delaying the procurement even more.

Finally, Sig Sauer, an arms maker based in the New Hampshire, US, was chosen as the winning bid last year. The around 72,000 rifles being procured under the deal will be used to equip frontline soldiers.

Source: India Today