Army's rifle plan; 10kg burden on soldiers, $250mn on us

[JAISWAL]

Army's rifle plan; 10kg burden on soldiers, $250mn on us | idrw.org
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In a controversial move, the Indian Army's
infantry directorate has invited bids to replace its
outdated INSAS rifles with those with
interchangeable barrels. Opting for such a fancy
weapon means that our soldiers will have to
carry both barrels and also battle with two kinds
of ammunition — an additional load of at least
10kg per soldier.
Surprisingly, just one European arms
manufacturing firm will be able to meet the
army's requirement. At present, the army seeks
to procure 65, 768 such rifles, but the
requirement could go up to 20 lakh rifles. DNA
accessed the RFP (request for proposal) floated by
the army headquarters a while ago for the
acquisition of the rifles that will cost the Indian
taxpayer about $250 million in the first phase.
The army's decision to opt for rifles with
interchangeable barrels is seen as a regressive
move by many in the South Block that houses
the ministry of defence. Most rifles come with a
single calibre, usually 7.62mm or a 5.56mm.
However, most modern armies have moved to
the 5.56mm calibre because it is light and allows
a soldier to carry more ammunition. It is also
believed that a lower calibre bullet ties down
more enemy troops compared to the 7.62mm
calibre rifles.
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[sayareakd]

hope this would not cause new type of logistics problems, like 5.56 ammo was asked but 7.62 was delivered in war time, or vice versa. Plus AK 47 is not outdated even today but INSAS is quite strange.