Indian small arms procurement is a complex business. Not only is the Indian Army extremely large, standing at around 1.2 million men, but it also has a complex procurement structure and an indigenous small arms manufacturing base that has failed to provide weapons that [Read More…]
Normally, when you report from a defense expo, you only talk about new products, updates and stuff that was never seen before. But when you take a path less travelled to go to regional defense exhibitions like DEFEXPO, there are a lot of weapons there that have been [Read More…]
There have been many turns in India’s move towards their major infantry modernization, and getting new high-quality rifles to replace the current and troublesome INSAS rifle. (INdian Small Arms System) At last it looks like the World’s second largest Army [Read More…]
It has emerged that India’s government has been forced to cut its potential order for a new standard issue service rifle from 800,000 down to just 250,000 even before a new rifle has been selected. India first announced its major rifle procurement programme back [Read More…]
After field trials and subsequent purchasing of the “Trichy” Assault Rifle (TAR) by the Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), it is being reported that other Indian Law Enforcement entities are taking an interest in the rifle as well. The 7.62x39mm [Read More…]
India’s ongoing troubles adopting a new service rifle are well documented but as a leading defence committee, chaired by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announces a major procurement are India’s small arms woes coming to an end? Following numerous [Read More…]
In the mid-2000s, India began looking for a carbine to replace their 9mm L2A3 Sterling submachine guns which they inherited from the United Kingdom. Two weapons were developed, one by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), and another by the Armament Research and Development [Read More…]
In the mid-2000s, India began looking for a carbine to replace their 9mm L2A3 Sterling submachine guns which they inherited from the United Kingdom. Two weapons were developed, one by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), and another by the Armament Research and Development [Read More…]
In an ongoing national conference where the top Indian Army generals are convening to discuss issues and ways to improve the military, one of the top issues is small arms program reform, especially in regards to the 5.56x45mm INSAS infantry rifle currently in use by [Read More…]
The state-owned Ordnance Factory Board’s most recent rifle submission has failed the Indian Army’s initial rifle qualification trials, in the words of the Hindustan Times it “miserably failed”. This most recent trial comes right on the heels of [Read More…]
The Indian Ministry of Defense has reissued an RFI for 44,000 5.56x45mm rifles due by July 15th, and to be completed by this August. We say “reissued” because this is actually based on a previous tender for a similar amount of rifles that has [Read More…]
In an unprecedented turn of events, the Indian government has approved the building of a private sector small arms factory at Malanpur in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Previously, the Indian small arms industry has been entirely nationalized, with the Ministry of [Read More…]
Earlier on TFB we reported on the South Korean Military’s insistence on picking up every single brass cartridge fired while conducting live fire training. Soon after, we received an Indian reader that emailed us with these photographs showing the brass catching [Read More…]
The frothing, boiling cauldron that is India’s collective rifle development and procurement entities has shifted again. Just two weeks ago, we reported to you that India had restarted its search for a 7.62x51mm foreign assault rifle to replace the INSAS. Now, we [Read More…]
In the latest installment of the Indian next generation rifle procurement saga, the nation-subcontinent has decided to forgo their “Excalibur” rifle development program, which consisted of essentially a product-improved INSAS rifle, in favor of a new [Read More…]
The Indian Ministry of Defense is awaiting the results of trials to do with their Excalibur program, of which they are hoping will pass, and then plans to purchase over 600,000 rifles, at the price of 60,000 INR, or around $900 US dollars each. We’ve already [Read More…]
On the heels of the formal cancellation of the Indian rifle tender that would have selected a foreign arm to replace the problematic indigenous INSAS rifle, the Indian government has announced they will proceed with a newly announced home-grown development, the [Read More…]
The Indian military will have to live for a while longer with the troubled and increasingly dated INSAS, and antique hand-me-down AKM rifles, it seems. Daily Mail India reports: In a setback to the Indian soldier’s quest for a reliable assault rifle, the Army has [Read More…]
India’s rifle competition may be on the verge of cancellation. From Jane’s: India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) is likely to scrap its 2011 tender for 66,000 multi-calibre assault rifles after four overseas vendors failed to meet the Indian [Read More…]
The troubled INSAS rifle has met yet another stumbling block. Calling the rifle “defective, the Delhi High Court questioned the Indian Ministry of Defense’s and the Home Ministry’s issuance of the rifles, late last month, Indian Express reports: The [Read More…]
The INSAS is too easy a gun to make fun of. It is the giraffe of the gun world, a committee designed clone of the AK merged with some miscellaneous FN parts, badly manufactured from cheap materials and forced upon its end user, the Indian Army, by a government-owned gun [Read More…]
An Indian reader emailed me an article he wrote about India’s service weapon, the INSAS 5.56mm Rifle. The article is facinating and I highly recommend you take the time to read it. I think it is safe to say the gun was designed by a committee. It has a FNC-styled [Read More…]
Indian soldiers are complaining about the INSAS rifles they are issued. One of the chief complaints is the poor sling design. It breaks easily and its placement on the rifle obscures the front sight! Times of India reports: Also, its sling often snaps while firing, [Read More…]
Your Privacy Choices