Army to buy Rs 40,000 crore of new weapons to replace ageing arsenal
New Delhi, Oct 29: The Army has finalised one of its biggest procurement plans for infantry modernisation under which a large number of light machine guns, battle carbines and assault rifles are being purchased at a cost of nearly Rs 40,000 crore to replace its ageing and obsolete weapons.
The broad process to acquire around 7 lakh rifles, 44,000 light machine guns (LMGs) and nearly 44,600 carbines has been finalised and the defence ministry is on the same page with the Army in moving ahead with the procurement, official sources told PTI.
The
worlds
second
largest
standing
Army
has
been
pressing
for
fast-tracking
the
procurement
of
various
weapons
systems
considering
the
evolving
security
threats
including
along
Indias
borders
with
Pakistan
and
China.
Apart
from
kick-starting
the
procurement
process,
the
government
has
also
sent
a
message
to
the
Defence
Research
and
Development
Organisation
(DRDO)
to
expedite
its
work
on
various
small
arms,
particularly
on
an
LMG.
The sources said a fresh RFI (request for information) to procure the LMGs will be issued in the next few days, months after the defence ministry scrapped the tender for the 7.62 calibre guns as there was only one vendor left after a series of field trials. The plan is to initially procure around 10,000 LMGs.
The Army has also finalised the specifications for a new 7.62 mm assault rifle and the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the defence ministrys highest decision making body on procurement, is expected to give the go-ahead for the much- needed procurement soon.
"The
General
Service
Quality
Requirements
(GSQR)
for
the
new
assault
rifle
has
been
finalised.
The
procurement
plan
will
soon
be
placed
before
the
DAC
for
approval,"
said
a
senior
official,
who
is
part
of
the
acquisition
process.
In
June,
the
Army
had
rejected
an
assault
rifle
built
by
the
state-run
Rifle
Factory,
Ishapore,
after
the
guns
miserably
failed
the
firing
tests.
The procurement of assault rifles has witnessed significant delays due to a variety of reasons including the Armys failure to finalise the specifications for it. The Army needs around 7 lakh 7.62x51 mm assault guns to replace its INSAS rifles.
The Army had issued RFI for the rifles in September last year and around 20 firms responded to it. An RFI is a process whose purpose is to collect information about capabilities of various vendors.
In
June,
the
Army
had
kick-started
the
initial
process
to
procure
around
44,600
carbines,
nearly
eight
months
after
a
tender
for
it
was
retracted,
also
due
to
single-vendor
situation.
Around
half
a
dozen
firms
including
a
few
global
arms
manufacturers
have
responded
to
the
RFI.
Army
sources
said
various
specifications
for
the
LMGs
and
battle
carbines
were
tweaked
to
ensure
that
the
problem
of
single
vendor
does
not
recur.
The
combined
cost
of
the
LMGs,
assault
rifles
and
carbines
will
be
in
excess
of
Rs
40,000
crore,
said
an
official.
On
DRDO
missing
a
number
of
deadlines
in
finalising
the
LMG,
an
official
said
the
defence
secretary
has
called
a
meeting
this
week
of
all
stakeholders
to
discuss
the
project.
"The infantry modernisation plan is a major initiative of the Army and it will significantly bolster the overall capability of the foot soldiers," said a senior army official.
The issue was extensively discussed at the recently- concluded Army Commanders conference which felt modernisation of the Army must be in tune with the evolving security threat facing the country.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman conveyed to the Army during the conference that modernisation of the force was a priority for the government and all its "deficiencies" will be addressed to strengthen its combat capability.
PTI