Indian government has turned itself toward strengthening the Armed Forces and bringing more power to the forces. The government agencies are working hard to make India self-reliant in manufacturing. India has been seen involved in manufacturing and purchasing arms from other nations. But now India is on the way to take some effective steps toward the small arms possessed by the soldiers.
The Indian army has moved in a positive direction for a proposal for procuring new assault rifles, snipers, machine guns, light weight rocket launchers and night vision equipment. The deals will cost about Rs. 300 Cr and will be discussed in the meeting of Defence Ministry next week. Going deep in the proposal, the Indian government seems to be interested in the M4A1 rifle form U.S. to arm the paramilitary battalions of India.
The actual required of the arms is for the newly raised para battalions, which have less ammunition than the older para battalions. The sources have revealed that the officials have planned to buy above mentioned arms along with shotguns, pistols and parachutes. These arms will remove the void in the Special Force of Indian army that is considered for handling crucial operations and tasks.
Recently Indian government has also released a proposal to the call global investors for new sniper rifle to replace its sniper used in the army. The proposal was to induct new and advanced sniper rifles with more specifications and enhanced performance.
The proposal has the following requirements for the new sniper contract.
- Range of the rifle should be 1200 m.
- 8.6 mm bullets (India currently uses 7.6 mm bullets).
The proposal is for the purchasing of 5,000 rifles that would have about 50% more range than the currently used Russian sniper Dragunov. The Indian army has also asked for the manufacturing of the rifles in India to support Make in India and will also be a crucial step in indigenous manufacturing.
As far as the allegations of induction of Excalibur are concerned, the rifle is chosen as a replacement of the currently using assault rifles, till the forces don’t get a new imported rifle. Excalibur rifle is the indigenously produced assault rifle made to replace the old assault rifles. The rifle is produced by the Ordinance Factory of India and is an upgraded version of the INSAS rifle, which uses 5.56mm bullets. The Indian Armed Forces have lost interest in the Excalibur and now aiming at foreign advanced rifles that will raise the targeting power and reduce the life loss of soldiers.
Conclusion
Guns are always termed as the best friend of a solider and an efficient gun doubles the power of the soldier. The new and enhanced technology driven arms have made certain changes in the Armed Forces. The procurement, updates and modernisation of weapons and arms have been the top priority of the defence ministry. With the emerging pressure front he neighbouring nations, Indian Armed Forces have pointed toward the strengthening of the Armed Forces looking beyond the vision to modernise them.
