New Delhi: In a move that can provide a massive boost to the army, India has signed a contract with a US firm for 72,400 assault rifles at a cost of around Rs 700 crore, news agency PTI reported on Tuesday.
With the procurement of the new rifles, the INSAS Rifles which the army is currently equipped with, is likely to get replaced.
The new assault rifles, being used by US forces as well as several other European countries, PTI reported, are being bought under the fast-track procurement procedure (FTP). As a part of the agreement, India will get around 72,400 7.62mm rifles from US firm SiG Sauer in one year from this day. These rifles will be used by troops deployed along the nearly 3,600-km border with China.
These new assault rifles will come at a cost of around Rs 700 crore, it cited officials.
The Indian Armed Forces are currently equipped with 5.56x45 mm INSAS Rifle. There is an urgent requirement of replacing the in-service 5.56X45 mm INSAS Rifle with a 7.62X51mm Assault Rifle which is compact, robust, modern in technology and simple to maintain in field conditions, the officials said.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier this month approved the procurement of the Sig Sauer rifles.
In October, 2017, the Army began the process to acquire around 7 lakh rifles, 44,000 light machine guns (LMGs) and nearly 44,600 carbines.
Around 18 months ago, the Army had rejected an assault rifle built by the state-run Rifle Factory, Ishapore, after the guns miserably failed the firing tests. Following this, the Army started scouting for rifles from the global market.
(With PTI inputs)