Indian Special Forces

FalconSlayers

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shuvo@y2k10

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My thinking is we lost interest in the deal as it may attract US sanctions.
Some major reasons that the deal can be dropped:

1. Not worth the sanctions list, unlike strategic requirement of S-400.
2. High price, even greater than Sig-716i. Original thinking was import expensive rifle, and manufacture another foreign rifle (under TOT) for non-frontline troops which is cheap but meets the requirements. However, it did not turn out to be cheap.
3. Little improvement of AK-203 over existing AKs.
4. Amethi plant was not producing any rifles till now. Their quality control can be difficult to judge. Worst case is that QC issues are similar to what RFI faced during late 90s during Insas induction.
4. Satisfactory performance of TAR (from OFB Trichy) in CAPFs.
5. The AK-203 deal was not part of any open tender. Hence, it can be challenged in court.
6. Realization that armed forces cannot be dependent on foreign rifles for the next 2 decades (at least), especially when big talk of Atmanirbhar Bharat and no import list is going on.
7. Shifting of economic priorities to Covid situation.
 

abingdonboy

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Testing, they were trying to find a sub machine gun to replace/augment the MP5s, they finally chose the SIG MPX. Also possibly as well as what @abingdonboy said to basically show the middle finger to HK and pressing the to sell more MP5s.
If you are testing a product the OEM will usually take it back with them.

The NSG has a wide array of small arms in their arsenal to familiarise their operators with, not to issue for operational roles.
I though want it to materialise as soon as it can.
We have to equip the second targets army in the world , we need a rifle better than the current one , not necessarily the best one.
>$1000 USD for a watered down AK-103M, you want this deal to go ahead? You realise by the time these 203s are due to replaced India will have the second largest economy on the planet (2040s)?


My thinking is we lost interest in the deal as it may attract US sanctions.
The US won't get so upset for these small scale deals, when DAC cleared the additional MKIs/MiG-29s a few months back they didn't say a word.


It's going to get fun later in the year when those first S400 units land in India though, fingers crossed Beijing Biden throws the book at India and knocks some sense into New Delhi.
 

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