The Ministry of Defence has signed a repeat order for 73,000 SIG716 rifles from Sig Sauer of the U.S. and deliveries are expected to completed by end-2025.
“The contract was signed in June 2024 and delivery is within 18 months of contract,” a defence official said. The Army has earlier procured and inducted 72,400 SIG-716 rifles from Sig Sauer of the U.S. through fast track procurement under a ₹700 crore contract signed in February 2019.
“We are proud to be a partner in the modernization effort of the Indian Army, and prouder still that the SIG716 rifle achieves the Ministry of Defence’s modernization goals with the second largest army in the world,” Ron Cohen, President and CEO, Sig Sauer said in a statement issued on August 26. “Since the initial fielding of the SIG716, we have received phenomenal end-user feedback on the performance and reliability of the platform.”
The successful fielding and overwhelming soldier acceptance led to this follow-on award for an additional 73,000 rifles, the company added.
The Army has for long been looking to replace the indigenous INSAS (Indian National Small Arms System) rifles in use with a modern rifle. The Army has inducted 66,400 of the 72,400 SIG-716 assault rifles procured under a ₹700-crore deal in February 2019 with Sig Sauer of the U.S. which have been provided to frontline troops involved in counter-insurgency operations.
The idea was to have a small batch of the SIG716 rifles with the larger requirement to be met by the bull license manufacture of the Russian Ak-203 rifles. However, as the Ak-203 deal saw considerable delays, the Army decided to go for a repeat order of another 72,400 SIG-716 rifles.
In September 2020, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had approved the procurement of a second batch of 72,400 SIG-716 rifles. However, that was delayed due to domestic pressure and then revived again.
The SIG-716 weighing 3.82 kgs and has an effective range of 600m and is more capable and reliable than the INSAS in use. It employs the heavier caliber 7.62 mm ammunition compared to the 5.56mm of the INSAS.
Published - August 28, 2024 12:33 pm IST