More than 70,000 Sig Sauer assault rifles will be provided to the Indian Army, giving its personnel a significant increase in firepower for use in terrorist operations and other missions, ANI reported.
The approval was given at a recent high-level meeting of the Defence Ministry attended by the top brass of the military, according to government sources who spoke with ANI.
The Indian Army was given approval to purchase over 70,000 of these assault rifles for more than Rs 800 crore at a time when the armed forces are engaged in a military standoff with China and are conducting counterterrorism operations against terrorist activities supported by Pakistan along the Jammu and Kashmir line of control, according to sources.
The military originally decided to purchase these rifles because it desired a weapon with a greater range.
Among a number of contenders, the SiG 716 assault rifle was selected due to its superior calibre and longer range.
These American-made assault guns, which are being deployed by personnel in the Kashmir valley and the Ladakh section of the China border, have already resulted in over 70,000 indictments by India.
72,400 7.62 x 51mm calibre SiG 716 rifles were purchased from SIG Sauer of the US in February 2019; 66,400 of them were for the Army, 4,000 for the Air Force, and 2,000 for the Navy.
Additionally, it is said to be more deadly than the AK-47 and its variations in the service, as well as the INSAS rifle.
The AK-203, which is now being made by a joint venture between two companies at an ordnance facility in Amethi, will also soon be available to the Indian troops.
Recently, Indian troops have also received a sizable quantity of Russian AK-103s to improve its conventional and anti-terrorist capabilities.
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