What is the reason behind this deal?
Due to delays in manufacturing Russian AK-203 Kalashnikov rifles in India, the first consignment of 72,400 Sig-716 rifles (66,400 for the Army, 4,000 for the IAF and 2,000 for the Navy) was imported in February 2019 for Rs 647 crore under the fast-track procurement route with US firm Sig Sauer. The Defence Acquisition Council headed by Rajnath Singh approved the procurement of an additional 73,000 Sig-716 rifles in December last year. In parallel, the Army is also procuring 40,949 light machine guns. This was approved by the DAC in August 2023 at an estimated cost of Rs 2,165 crore.
PressNews24 provides latest news, bollywood news, breaking news hollywood, top tech news, business standard news, indian economy news, world economy news, travel news, mumbai news, latest news mumbai loksabha election 2024, video viral news, delhi news, Only at PressNews24.in
AK-203 rifles are being prepared in Amethi
In the case of Russia's AK-203 rifles, the first 35,000 rifles were handed over to the Army earlier this year. These were assembled at the Korwa Ordnance Factory in Amethi district of Uttar Pradesh under a joint venture called “Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited”. A total of six lakh AK-203 rifles are to be made at the Korwa factory over the next 10 years. These are 7.62×39 mm calibre rifles. They have an effective range of 300 metres. These rifles will meet the needs of the Indian Army with over 11 lakh personnel as well as the Air Force and Navy. The AK-203 project was first announced in 2018 but was delayed considerably due to cost, royalty, technology transfer, indigenisation level and other issues, as previously reported in the Times of India.
The army had dismissed reports of disturbances
The Army has earlier also dismissed reports of glitches in the SIG-716 rifles, insisting that the US-origin rifles have “longer effective range, greater firepower and higher recoil” than the indigenous INSAS (5.56×51 mm) or AK-47 rifles. The Army says it is using ammunition manufactured by Indian Ordnance Factories for the SIG-716 rifles. The rifles are also equipped with Picatinny rails to facilitate mounting of various equipment and accessories such as optical sights, UBGL (under-barrel grenade launcher), forehand grips, bipods and laser pointers without any modifications, an official said.