New Delhi: The Indian Army has got a major boost as it has received a portion of the American SiG Sauer assault rifles and has inducted these weapons into its operations. These newly procured weapons will immensely help the Indian Army in its fight against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and against the Pakistan Army on the Line of Control (LoC).
In addition to these newly procured weapons, the Indian Army has also started getting supplies of ammunition for its sniper rifles as more than 21 lakh rounds have been ordered from vendors.
Top Indian Army officials said that the first consignment of 10,000 SiG 716 assault rifles has arrived in India and has been sent to the Northern Command. The Northern Command handles the counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir and also acts in stopping the infiltration of terrorists from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). They also resist the entry of cadets who are trained there.
The benefit of the induction of these new assault rifles with the troops in operation will assist them to operate more effectively in the engagements with the terrorists in Pakistan and PoK.
A contract has been signed by India for over Rs.700 crore to equip the Indian Army with 72,400 new assault rifles. These rifles are being supplied by US arms maker Sig Sauer. The weapons will be manufactured in the United States and will be supplied within a year since the contract for the new guns is being made under fast-track procurement (FTP).
The Indian Army will be allotted a major chunk of these rifles which will be numbering 66,000.The remaining weapons will be divided between the Indian Navy which will be numbering 2,000 and the Indian Air Force which will be 4,000. The Sig Sauer SIG716 7.62×51 mm assault rifles will replace the Indian-made 5.56x45mm Insas rifles.
The Indian Army will also receive another major boost with the induction of more than 7 lakh AK-203 assault rifles which are going to be produced in the joint venture between India and Russia.
