Indian Army SIG Sauer 716 assault rifle.

Killswitch

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I wonder if the IA has the foresight to find a dedicated supplier for accessories such as foregrips, flashlights, slings, back up sights (flip-ups), magazines, and optics. I personally run MAGPUL furniture and back up sights. Surefire flashlights, and Vortex optics.
 

Lonewarrior

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I wonder if the IA has the foresight to find a dedicated supplier for accessories such as foregrips, flashlights, slings, back up sights (flip-ups), magazines, and optics. I personally run MAGPUL furniture and back up sights. Surefire flashlights, and Vortex optics.
We don't follow that "dedicated supplier" route. For each requirement new tenders are issued.
Given the level of corruption we have in defence acquisitions, this will simply mean that everything will become unquestionable.
 

samsaptaka

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I wonder if the IA has the foresight to find a dedicated supplier for accessories such as foregrips, flashlights, slings, back up sights (flip-ups), magazines, and optics. I personally run MAGPUL furniture and back up sights. Surefire flashlights, and Vortex optics.
LoL , if we get optics on every rifle, that in itself will be a huge achievement !
 

WolfPack86

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Soldiers on LAC facing PLA troops to state of the art Sig Sauer 716 assault rifles
For the soldiers on the Line of Actual Control, facing Chinese People’s Liberation Army troops barely 300 to 500 metres away and those in posts on the Line of Control, new weapons are coming.


Or rather, many more of the state of the art Sig Sauer 716 assault rifles that are coming in from the United States. After the first batch of about 66, 400 for the army, the second batch of 73,000 will come up for approval before the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh early next week.


The three service chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff are part of the committee along with the defence secretary and DRDO chief.


The new purchases will ensure that all frontline infantry battalions will have the same weapons. If about 800 assault rifles are earmarked for each battalion, there are enough for about 170. Plus, some would be in training units.


As this is a repeat order, there is no need for trials and price negotiations, always time-consuming. The deliveries can happen soon after the contract is signed.


While the assault rifle is cleared, the purchase of the carbine, from Caracal in the UAE remains in the pipeline. It’s not clear if it will happen and if it does, when. While an AK-203 manufacturing plant is being made in India, soldiers are still a long way from getting the Russian designed assault rifles.
 

WolfPack86

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Indian Army To Get Second Batch Of 72,000 SIG716 Assault Rifles For Frontline Troops;
The Indian Army will soon get its second batch for 72,000 US-built SIG716 G2 assault rifles as the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, cleared the procurement in its meeting earlier today.


The Army had placed the first order for 72,400 of these rifles in February 2019 under the fast-track programme at a cost of around Rs 700 crore and started receiving its first pieces under this deal in December 2019. The maker of the rifle, Sig Sauer Inc, will complete the delivery by the end of this year.


This purchase of these rifles, which will cost Rs 780 crore, is part of a larger plan to improve the capabilities of infantry units of the Army.


The procurement of these rifles has been cleared by the government at a time when the Indian and Chinese Armies are locked in a tense standoff at multiple points along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.


The Army is currently equipping soldiers involved in counter-interagency with SIG716 rifles, while the wider requirement of assault rifles for regular infantry units will be met with the procurement of AK-103s manufactured by a joint venture of Russia’s Kalashnikov and India’s Ordnance Factory Board in Amethi.


Aimed at replacing INSAS rifles designed and built indigenously in India by the Ordnance Factory Board, the 7.62×51 mm SIG716 comes with a 16-inch barrel, M-LOK™ handguard, and a 6-position telescoping stock.


To build this platform, maker Sig Sauer has taken “proven features of SIG516 and applied them into a potent AR-based rifle chambered in 7.62 x 51mm.”


The India-Russia deal for the manufacturing of 7 lakh AK-203 rifles, however, has hit a roadblock over differences in pricing. With Covid-19 protocols in place, the joint venture coming up in Amethi is unlikely to start production this year.
 

WolfPack86

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Defence ministry clears purchase of additional 72,000 assault rifles from US
The defence ministry on Monday approved the procurement of 72,000 assault rifles, worth Rs 780 crore, for The Indian Army from the United States. This is the second batch of Sig Sauer rifles that has been cleared for procurement by the defence ministry.

Earlier, the army had procured 72,400 Sig Sauer rifles under the fast-track procurement deal to meet the shortage of assault rifles.

The clearance for the procurement of the second batch of rifles comes amid the ongoing military tussle with China.


The clearance for rifle procurement was part of the approval given by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisition Council for capital acquisitions of the various equipment required by the Indian armed forces at an approximate cost of Rs 2,290 crore. The council had met on Monday to discuss and clear the proposals.

These include procurement from the domestic industry as well as foreign vendors.

“To equip the frontline troops of the army, the council has accorded approval for procurement of 72,000 Sig Sauer assault rifles at a cost of around Rs 780 crore,” the defence ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The army’s requirement of assault rifles was expected to be met by the production of 6.71 lakh AK 203 rifles to be manufactured in Korwa, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh as part of a joint venture with Russia but the Make in India project has been facing delays.

The new rifles will replace the existing Indian small arms system (Insas) 5.56x45 mm rifles used by the forces and manufactured locally by the Ordnance Factories Board.

The defence ministry also cleared procurement of Static HF Tans-receiver sets and smart anti airfield weapon. The HF radio sets will enable seamless communication for the field units of Army and Air Force and are being procured at cost of Rs 540 crore.

The Smart Anti Airfield Weapon being procured at cost of Rs 970 crore will add to the firepower of navy and air force.
 

WolfPack86

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Defence ministry clears purchase of additional 72,000 assault rifles from US
The defence ministry on Monday approved the procurement of 72,000 assault rifles, worth Rs 780 crore, for The Indian Army from the United States. This is the second batch of Sig Sauer rifles that has been cleared for procurement by the defence ministry.

Earlier, the army had procured 72,400 Sig Sauer rifles under the fast-track procurement deal to meet the shortage of assault rifles.

The clearance for the procurement of the second batch of rifles comes amid the ongoing military tussle with China.


The clearance for rifle procurement was part of the approval given by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisition Council for capital acquisitions of the various equipment required by the Indian armed forces at an approximate cost of Rs 2,290 crore. The council had met on Monday to discuss and clear the proposals.

These include procurement from the domestic industry as well as foreign vendors.

“To equip the frontline troops of the army, the council has accorded approval for procurement of 72,000 Sig Sauer assault rifles at a cost of around Rs 780 crore,” the defence ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The army’s requirement of assault rifles was expected to be met by the production of 6.71 lakh AK 203 rifles to be manufactured in Korwa, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh as part of a joint venture with Russia but the Make in India project has been facing delays.

The new rifles will replace the existing Indian small arms system (Insas) 5.56x45 mm rifles used by the forces and manufactured locally by the Ordnance Factories Board.

The defence ministry also cleared procurement of Static HF Tans-receiver sets and smart anti airfield weapon. The HF radio sets will enable seamless communication for the field units of Army and Air Force and are being procured at cost of Rs 540 crore.

The Smart Anti Airfield Weapon being procured at cost of Rs 970 crore will add to the firepower of navy and air force.
 

WolfPack86

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India Fast Tracks Procurement of Second Batch of 72,000 Assault Rifles For The Indian Army
Ahead of the 2+2 Indo-US Ministerial Dialogue scheduled for October the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) gave its approval for buying additional 72,000 SiG-Sauer Assault Rifles from the US. And these are expected to be used by the Indian Army troops along the 3,500 Km border with China

These rifles are being procured at a cost of Rs 780 crore through the Fast Track Procedure (FTP) for the modernisation of the Infantry arm of the Indian Army. Today’s approval comes close on the heels of the ongoing tension along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China.

Financial Express Online has reported earlier that the process of acquiring modern weapons for the Indian Army including 44,000 light machine guns (LMGs), nearly 44,600 carbines, and seven lakh rifles, started in Oct 2017. These are expected to replace the obsolete and ageing weapons and to help in enhancing the fighting capability of the Indian Army.

According to sources, the government has used the option of buying additional assault rifles through the FTP, and under this procedure the delivery will be soon.

What Is The Indian Army Using?

Currently 5.56×45 mm INSAS Rifles which have been built and developed by the state-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is in use and these need to be replaced with the latest technology and a compact 7.62×51 mm Assault Rifle.

The American Assault Rifles are going to be manufactured at the SiG Sauer’s New Hampshire facilities.

Why The American Rifle?

An assault rifle made by the Rifle Factory, Ishapore, was rejected by the user when it failed the firing tests. In September 2018, this led to a competitive process and finally, the SIG716 was down-selected when it had beaten the UAE based Caracal which was also bidding for the Close Quarter Carbines.

How Many Does The Army Need?

The requirement approximately is for 7-8 lakh new 7.62mm assault rifles, which will replace the glitch-prone 5.56mm INSAS (Indian small arms system) rifles.

The defence trade between India and the US has witnessed a significant upswing in the last few years touching almost USD 18 billion mark in 2019. This is a reflection of the growing defence procurement from that country.

The two countries have a dialogue scheduled for later next month when the military trade and other issues of mutual importance will be talked about and also the options of jointly manufacturing locally here in India.

The US in June 2016 has designated India as a `Major Defence Partner’ which means it has been elevated to a position where defence trade and technology sharing will commensurate with that of the closest partners and allies.
 

samsaptaka

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When are the effing optics for this coming ? Is it 'soon' or 'very soon' or as soon as a fat babu in MoD is bribed by a foriegn vendor like Aimpoint which cannot be afforded by Tonbo ? :mad2:
 

Gessler

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When are the effing optics for this coming ? Is it 'soon' or 'very soon' or as soon as a fat babu in MoD is bribed by a foriegn vendor like Aimpoint which cannot be afforded by Tonbo ? :mad2:
We have a requirement for magnified optics, though not explicitly stated as intended for the SIGs, I think its reasonable to assume so. There hasn't been any publicly visible progress on the procurement effort for last year-plus.

However one needn't wait for the magnifiers to arrive, Army units (especially those deployed near LoC) already do have non-magnified optics in inventory like FALKE LE etc. which we often see on FAB-upgraded AKs. It's just that we haven't seen anyone using said optics on any SIG so far.

A 4x magnifier is probably the best kind of optic for the 716 but even a reflex/holographic sight is much better than just irons.

As of Tonbo, they're not in fray here as they don't have any day-optics in portfolio so far. All their products are either thermal imagers or image-intesifiers. No optically magnified sights, reflex sights or holo sights from them as of yet.
 

samsaptaka

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We have a requirement for magnified optics, though not explicitly stated as intended for the SIGs, I think its reasonable to assume so. There hasn't been any publicly visible progress on the procurement effort for last year-plus.

However one needn't wait for the magnifiers to arrive, Army units (especially those deployed near LoC) already do have non-magnified optics in inventory like FALKE LE etc. which we often see on FAB-upgraded AKs. It's just that we haven't seen anyone using said optics on any SIG so far.

A 4x magnifier is probably the best kind of optic for the 716 but even a reflex/holographic sight is much better than just irons.

As of Tonbo, they're not in fray here as they don't have any day-optics in portfolio so far. All their products are either thermal imagers or image-intesifiers. No optically magnified sights, reflex sights or holo sights from them as of yet.
But one would expect the troops to train with the sights ? Ideally both should have arrived at the same time. Somehow I'm not confident about the separate order for optics for sig materialising and being deployed en masse. We will again see local.commander level procurement and ad hoc deployment as in the case of FAB modified AK
 

Unknowncommando 2

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Different muzzle brake/compensator or a plug ?? Also it has no optics as well as gun slings.. Seems like this piece's just unpacked given the read-me tag it has. The finish of gun as evident in close-up shots is simply awesome; OFB needs to take note of that !!
Looks just like a plug to protect the muzzle brake during shipments.
 

Rajendra chozhan

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So, slowly we are increasing the inventory of Sig. Why not make it the standard issue for all the troops , removing that AK 203 ones? For further orders ,we can go for mass production of Sig in association with private manufacturer. Atleast ammo will be common to all the forces.Better scrap that AK 203 like caracal. Sig can serve for another 30 years or so with continuous upgradation .
 

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