India To Equip Its Army Units With Night Vision Devices

India is equipping its army border units with long range light machine guns and night vision devices (NVDs) to take on Pakistani snipers along the border with the neighbouring country.

The Indian Army has asked for night sights from global manufacturers in order to help soldiers fire 7.62 mm Light Machine Guns (LMGs) accurately in any visibility. The decision was taken in the wake of Indian Army having lost 25 soldiers within two months as a result sniping and mortar fire from across the border.

India needs these long-range 24x7 LMGs to dissuade Pakistani snipers from taking up positions to harass Indian soldiers manning posts along the border. "In terms of design, metallurgy and performance parameters, the sight should be ‘state of the art'.

The night sight should be capable of providing the desired performance across all spectrum of employment in the Indian terrain and climatic conditions.

“The sight should comply with laid down military standards and other international standards in vogue," reads a document of the proposal issued by the Indian Army, Sputnik News reported Thursday.

The range of detection of a human target at minimum 1000 meters will be hold much importance in the mountainous Himalayan region where life of soldiers posted within visual range remains at stake especially on the front with Pakistan. The Indian Army has for long sought a new 7.62 mm LMG.

Though Indian defense scientists have developed 7.62 mm LMG, it is not clear whether the army has approved it for induction.

It is known that Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) is one of the contenders for the tender with its Negev NG7.  IWI has already received orders for the 5.56 mm LMG. It claims the NEGEV NG-7 is a derivative of the 5.56 LMG. This seeks to place IWI in an advantageous position to meet the army's need for 7.62 mm LMG with a semi-automatic mode.