Indian Army to reduce assault rifles order from 800,000 to 250,000.

Once again, because of budget constraints and in an effort to modify its priorities, the Indian army has reduced the order from its original requirement of 800,000 assault rifles to just 250,000.

Only half of the 450,000 infantrymen are foreseen to use the rifle as their primary weapon. The rest are support soldiers. (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The Indian Army will place an order for only 250,000 assault rifles because of budgetary constraints and the need to speed up deliveries. The 1.3 million-strong army will thus not receive the expected 800,000 new rifles, which would have cost $2.5 billion, to prioritise spending and advance the purchase of more up-to-date equipment. Only half of the 450,000 infantrymen are foreseen to use the rifle as their primary weapon. The rest are support soldiers. Hence the reduced order which nevertheless is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s $250 billion push to modernise India’s armed forces, as infantry continue to face the brunt of deadly attacks in disputed border areas such as Kashmir and the north-east.

A complaint from the army widely advertised during the recent BSDA defense exhibition held in Chennai last April, plans to buy new equipment from overseas, however, have been held back by bureaucratic delays and the military’s desire to balance the needs of its troops against efforts to build equipment domestically under Modi’s ‘Make in India’ program. An army team of experts will be leaving later this month to meet with foreign rifle-makers including Colt’s Manufacturing Company LLC, Italy’s Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta S.p.A, Swiss Sig Sauer Inc., the Czech Republic’s Ceska Zbrojovka and Israel Weapons Industry Ltd. to identify the most suitable weapon, the person said.

To meet the requirement of the rest of the force, the Army intends to make do with a mix of 400,000 Kalashnikov rifles and the India-made INSAS rifles. The Indian Army’s shopping spree for small arms was triggered by its decision to phase out the two decade-old INSAS rifle, introduced in the late 1990s and built by the state-owned Ordnance Factory.