Indian Army rejects assault rifles ‘made in India’, second time in a row

With no domestic manufacturers making bid for the rifles as per Army's required specifications, the government is likely to procure the weapon from international sellers.

New Delhi, June 21: For the second year in a row, the Indian Army rejected domestic assault rifles, made by government’s Ordnance Factory Board. The rifles were intended to replace the AK-47s and INSAS rifles, being used by the forces over past two decades. The assault rifles reportedly failed the quality check conducted by the forces in the past week.

With no other domestic weapon manufacturer making bid for the rifles as per Army’s required specifications, the government planned to announce a formal Request for Proposal (RFP). According to reports, nearly 21 global weapon manufacturers are intrigued to supply India with the rifles as per the the requirement.

As per the “Buy and Make Global” route adopted by India to procure weapons from foreign manufacturers, the international bidders would compete through trial checks for getting their approval from the Defence Ministry. After their bid gets approval, the companies are required to tie up with a domestic form to manufacture the rifles in bulk. The process normally takes a couple of years to get completed.

The assault rifle made by Ordnance Factory Board failed to perform efficiently during the trial run, reported NDTV. The rifle functioned in a faulty manner, with excessive recoil, flash and sound signature. The report claimed that the rifle raised safety apprehensions, due to its multiple stoppages during the trial run.

In the past year, the Army had similarly rejected the indigenous rifle ‘Excalibur’. The 5.56 mm rifle reportedly failed to meet the firepower requirement as demanded by the ground forces. Although the rifle was considered to be a replacement of the incumbent 5.56 mm INSAS, some major shortcomings compelled the forces to reject it.

The AK-47s and INSAS or Indian Small Arms System rifles, are being used by the Army since 1988. The rifles were scheduled to be replaced this year with advanced weapons. Both the rifles are being currently used in cross-border firing as well as counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir and the northeastern states.

The rejection of rifles manufactured by Ordnance Factory Board comes as a major setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, which seeks to boost manufacturing, including defence from the indigenous sector. The development of domestic weapon industry would help India save swaths of amount spent on weapon procurement. India, being the largest arms importer, is expected to spend $250 billion on modernisation of its weaponry over the next 10 years.