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Indian Army plans 'Request for Information' for single calibre assault rifle 30707153.
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Defence & Security News - India
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| Indian Army plans 'Request for Information' for single calibre assault rifle | |||
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The Indian Army is likely to soon issue a 'Request for Information' for a new single calibre assault rifle to replace its INSAS rifles after it scrapped a four-year-old tender for purchasing 180,000 multi-calibre weapons. Defence sources also ruled out that the army has shortlisted any particular gun to replace the INSAS, which had entered service in the late 1990s.
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 Indian soldiers with INSAS rifle and INSAS LMG during an exercise |
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"A Request for Information is likely to be issued soon for single calibre guns. This will be open to all," sources said, adding that the project would finally be taken up as part of the 'Make in India' initiative. Army had initially wanted a rifle with interchangeable barrels firing different calibres -- the 5.56-mm INSAS round and the 7.62-mm AK-47 round. That was because troops use AK-47s in counter-insurgency operations while the INSAS rifles are issued for peace stations. However, none of the firms which had pitched for the contract could satisfy the army with sources saying that the General Staff Qualitative Requirements "could well have been too ambitious". "There was no point on working on something that cannot be worked out," the sources added. Army had on June 15 informed the four short-listed international firms that it was retracting the multi-million contract. The INSAS is primarily based on the AKM but incorporates features from other rifles. It has a chrome-plated bore. The barrel has a six-groove rifling. The basic gas operated long stroke piston and the rotating bolt are similar to the AKM/AK-47. It has a manual gas regulator, similar to that of FN FAL, and a gas cutoff for launching grenades. The charging handle is on the left instead of on the bolt carrier, similar in operation to the HK33. |
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