Army to get new assault rifle which has lethal firing range of 500 metres
Once the rifle clears the PMT trials, it will be put through extensive field trials.
A new 7.62 mm assault rifle for the Indian Army has been developed by the Ordinance Factory Board. The trials of the weapon will commence soon. The rifle weighing 4.5 kgs is fully automatic and has two firing modes- single shot and automatic. It also has a lethal firing range of 500 metres.
The rifle also has a picatinny rail, a standard bracket on the gun, both above and below, where various accessories such as night-vision devices and under-barrel grenade launchers can be mounted. Basic trials were conducted during the development.
The trials will be conducted before the Project Management team which comprises representatives of the Army's Infantry Directorate, Rifle Factory, Director General Quality Assurance and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The
Army
has
been
trying
to
replace
the
INSAS.
The
Amry
had
launched
a
global
tender
for
interchangeable
barrels
capable
of
firing
both
5.56-mm
and
7.62-mm-calibre
bullets.
Once
the
rifle
clears
the
PMT
trials,
it
will
be
put
through
extensive
field
trials.
The
Army
has
an
initial
requirement
of
1,85,000
guns
and
much
more
later.
The
OFB
has
so
far
supplied
over
10
lakh
INSAS
(Indian
National
Small
Arms
System)
rifles
to
the
Army
so
far
and
the
plan
is
to
replace
all
of
them.
OneIndia News