Indian Army to Acquire 72,000 Sig Sauer Assault Rifles

The Indian Army is mulling over acquiring 72,000 assault rifles from U.S. manufacturer Sig Sauer.

The Army has inducted 72,400 Sig Sauer rifles, which are 7.62x51 mm caliber guns with an effective “kill” range of 500-metre, under an INR 647 crore (around $95 million) fast-track procurement (FTP) deal inked in February last year. These were procured to replace the aging INSAS rifles.

“The proposal for the second lot of Sig Sauer rifles is now being finalized for clearance by the defense acquisitions council (DAC) chaired by defense minister Rajnath Singh,” a source was quoted as saying by Times of India Sunday.

Another contract for 16,479 Israeli Negev 7.62x51 mm light machine guns (LMGs) valued INR 880 crore ($117 million) was inked this March.

India was set to buy 7.62x39 mm caliber AK-203 Kalashnikov rifles manufactured at Korwa Ordnance Factory in Uttar Pradesh state. It ran into rough weather after the joint venture between Indian Ordnance Factory Board and Russian Rosoboronexport and Kalashnikov reportedly quoted an “unreasonable and unacceptable price.”