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Taking Aim
The Indian small and medium arms market present a major opportunity
By Atul Chandra
India has selected the 9mm UZI for its special forces
The next three to five years will be crucial for global small arms companies who are looking at closing vital contracts with the Indian military, paramilitary and police forces for replacement of their small and medium arms. The inability to develop an indigenous weapon in the 5.56mm or 7.62 calibre will now prove costly, as it is all but certain that the next generation of small and medium weapons for India’s military, paramilitary and police forces will come from abroad. This market for small and medium arms military sales to India is the big prize for the global small arms industry whose estimated annual authorised trade exceeds USD 8.5 billion.
As part of the Indian Army’s ‘Future Infantry Soldier as a System’ 2020 (FINSAS 2020) programme an estimated USD 10 billion (Rs 60,000 crore) would be spent on acquiring small and medium arms. The requirements for modern small and medium arms are spread across the IA, Indian Air Force (Garud’s) and Indian Navy (Marine Commando’s) along with Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Special Frontier Force (SFF), and police units, which are involved in homeland security or anti-Maoist operations. Acquisitions of modern small and medium arms have currently been limited to military Special Forces and elite units along with those procured by paramilitary and police forces. This has led to the induction of a bewildering range of weapons procured from countries such as Israel, Germany, Switzerland and the US to name a few.
For foreign manufacturers who have already bagged contracts in India and those who are vying for more business, the going is slow and difficult. According to Wg Cdr (retd) Neelu Khatri, head - defence & security advisory services, KPMG Advisory Services, “The primary difficulty faced by companies offering small arms to the Indian market is the multiple government agencies involved in the procurement process. Each government department that the company wants to sell its guns to has to go through their specific procurement procedures including trials, these are further exasperated if the ministry of home affairs (MHA) shows interest in the gun system, with various state police forces wanting to take individual trials of the guns. The upfront heavy financial burden to the company without any promise of future purchases is a dampener. Another challenge is successful Transfer Of Technology (TOT) to the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) – the designated Indian small arms manufacturer in the country, whose production processes are very different from those in the western countries and technology absorption is not easy.” She adds, “The pace of procurement is certainly not sufficient. Decision to render more impetus to indigenisation will further add to delay since local companies will get technology from global OEMs and will climb up to the learning curve of integration.”
The Indian small and medium arms market present a major opportunity
The Indian small and medium arms market present a major opportunity
By Atul Chandra
India has selected the 9mm UZI for its special forces
The next three to five years will be crucial for global small arms companies who are looking at closing vital contracts with the Indian military, paramilitary and police forces for replacement of their small and medium arms. The inability to develop an indigenous weapon in the 5.56mm or 7.62 calibre will now prove costly, as it is all but certain that the next generation of small and medium weapons for India’s military, paramilitary and police forces will come from abroad. This market for small and medium arms military sales to India is the big prize for the global small arms industry whose estimated annual authorised trade exceeds USD 8.5 billion.
As part of the Indian Army’s ‘Future Infantry Soldier as a System’ 2020 (FINSAS 2020) programme an estimated USD 10 billion (Rs 60,000 crore) would be spent on acquiring small and medium arms. The requirements for modern small and medium arms are spread across the IA, Indian Air Force (Garud’s) and Indian Navy (Marine Commando’s) along with Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Special Frontier Force (SFF), and police units, which are involved in homeland security or anti-Maoist operations. Acquisitions of modern small and medium arms have currently been limited to military Special Forces and elite units along with those procured by paramilitary and police forces. This has led to the induction of a bewildering range of weapons procured from countries such as Israel, Germany, Switzerland and the US to name a few.
For foreign manufacturers who have already bagged contracts in India and those who are vying for more business, the going is slow and difficult. According to Wg Cdr (retd) Neelu Khatri, head - defence & security advisory services, KPMG Advisory Services, “The primary difficulty faced by companies offering small arms to the Indian market is the multiple government agencies involved in the procurement process. Each government department that the company wants to sell its guns to has to go through their specific procurement procedures including trials, these are further exasperated if the ministry of home affairs (MHA) shows interest in the gun system, with various state police forces wanting to take individual trials of the guns. The upfront heavy financial burden to the company without any promise of future purchases is a dampener. Another challenge is successful Transfer Of Technology (TOT) to the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) – the designated Indian small arms manufacturer in the country, whose production processes are very different from those in the western countries and technology absorption is not easy.” She adds, “The pace of procurement is certainly not sufficient. Decision to render more impetus to indigenisation will further add to delay since local companies will get technology from global OEMs and will climb up to the learning curve of integration.”
The Indian small and medium arms market present a major opportunity