In a midst of a crisis against Pakistan in Kashmir and rumors about its ability to fight and win, the Indian Army has again issued a tender for a new assault rifle to replace the obsolete INSAS assault rifle, the standard armed forces infantry weapon.
On Sept. 27, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD ) re-issued a request for information (RFI) for a 7.62x51 mm assault rifle that can shoot-to-kill "to replace problematic INSAS."
The army's inability to quickly find a replacement for INSAS despite the plethora of quality assault and automatic rifles in the world market has long been a puzzle to observers. The RFI is the latest attempt after a slew of failed attempts over the last decade to acquire a new standard rifle.
MoD now wants the new rifle to be lightweight; have a minimum effective range of 500 meters and have accuracy better than 3 minutes of arc (MoA) up to 500 meters.
The new rifle should also be capable of firing the in-service under barrel grenade launcher (UBGL). It should have an integrated open sight and a multi-option telescopic sight. It also has to be compatible with all modern sights and accessories and have a provision for mounting these accessories.
The Army wants 185,000 of the new rifles with 60,000 to be delivered within 28 months from contract signing.
This new RFI follows the Indian Army's rejection of the Excalibur rifle from the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Ordnance Factory Board. The reason: the Army has now decided it wants a new weapon firing rounds that kill (7.62x51 mm) instead of rounds that wound (5.56×45 mm NATO). The latter is the round that arms INSAS.
Last April, an Army commanders' conference debated the question of whether the Army needs a 7.62 mm rifle that kills or a 5.56 mm rifle that incapacitates enemy soldiers. It decided to go for the 7.62x51 mm rifle "with a higher kill probability and accuracy at an enhanced effective range of 500 meters."
In going for the 7.62 mm rifle, the Army said this caliber was better for counter-insurgency since terrorists must quickly be killed to eliminate the risk from suicide bombers.
The recently rejected Excalibur was a better weapon than INSAS (for Indian Small Arms System) but fell by the wayside because it was chambered for a 5.56mm round. INSAS has never gained popularity among jawans fearful of its unreliability. Soldiers also aren't happy INSAS can only fire either single shots or three round bursts.