The Infantry of the Indian Army will soon receive 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, as reported by Swarajya Magazine.
In February 2019, the army had placed the first order for 72,400 of these rifles “under the fast-track programme” at a cost of around ₹700 crore and from December 2019, the army started receiving the much needed assault rifles.
Sig Sauer Inc, will complete the delivery by the end of this year.
The go head by the DAC comes at a time when the Indian and Chinese Armies are practically standing toe to toe at multiple points along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.
The Army has eqquiped its infantryinvolved in counter-interagency with SIG716 rifles,and 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.
For a long time the Indian Army has been asking for a effective assault rifle that could replace the INSAS rifles designed by the ordnance Factory Board. The INSAS proved very problematic for the infantry because of its poor performance.