Indian Army will buy 72,000 additional SIG Sauer SIG716G2 assault rifles.

The Indian Army will order 72,000 additional SIG716 assault rifles from American firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer, DefPost reports.
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SIG716G2 Patrol assault rifle (Picture source: SIG Sauer)

In February 2019, India signed an INR 700 crore (around USD 99 million) contract for procurement of 72,400 SIG716G2 Patrol assault rifles from Sig Sauer under the fast-track procurement (FTP) procedure. A majority of these rifles (66,400) are for the Indian Army with the remaining divided between the Navy (2,000) and the Air Force (4,000).

The first batch of 10,000 SIG716 assault rifles arrived in India in December 2019. The new SIG 716 rifles will partially replace the Indian Army’s INSAS (INdian Small Arms System) assault rifle. The Indian Army has been, for long, seeking to replace its INSAS rifle, chambered for 5.56x45mm NATO round, with a rifle that fires a larger, more powerful 7.62x51mm round, such as the SIG 716.

Most of the Army’s INSAS rifles will reportedly be replaced by Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles, manufactured in India by Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited. The Indo-Russia Rifles is a joint venture between India’s state-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and Russia’s Kalashnikov Concern, with Rosoboronexport holding a minority stake. The JV will produce around 750,000 AK-203 rifles, a 7.62×39mm variant from the AK-100 family.