CRPF to be armed with sniper rifles to target Maoists
Official sources said at least five vendors -- including
Germany's Walther,
Switzerland's Brugger and Thomet,
South Africa's Truvelo,
Italy's Sako/Baretta and a Czech manufacturer -- are vying for the tender dispatched a year ago.
Security officials said competitive trials where all five models would be test-fired to a range of 800-1000 metres would take place at the CRPF's Kaderpur firing range in Haryana on the Delhi-Sohna road.
The acquisition is being re-tendered after an earlier attempt by the CRPF to acquire 807 sniper rifles -- 433 bolt-action and 374 semi-automatic models -- was summarily rejected last year after the Qualitative Requirements for the weapon system were rejected on operational grounds.
The deadline under the FTP -- specially introduced by the MoD to short-cut cumbersome procurement procedures --
to finalise the import of 900-1000 sniper rifles for the Special Forces concluded last December with Finland's bolt-action SAKO TRG-22/24, Israel Weapon Industries semi-automatic Galil 7.62x54mm sniper model and Sig Sauer of USA's SSG 3000 bolt-action, magazine-fed rifle, competing for the $ 10-12 million contract.
But defence industry sources said even then its SSG 3000 model was not tested to the
optimum range of 800-1000 metres in both day and night conditions and was reportedly wrangling to secure yet another MoD waiver in this regard, resulting in delays in confirming the sniper rifle purchase.
Military sources said the army's QRs drawn up in support of the sniper rifle requirement in its tender issued in August 2009 appear to have been by framed by ill-informed officers with seemingly little or no field experience.
Surprisingly, the QR mandated no accuracy standard for the sniper rifles at a
minimum strike range of 800 mt -- the fundamental requirement for such a weapon system -- but absurdly requires them to be fitted with a bayonet.
CRPF to be armed with sniper rifles to target Maoists, tests soon - Rediff.com India News