Putting the Indian Army's desire to import assault rifles in perspective

[bloo]

Well,the barrel is simply too short for an assault rifle to equip the regulars.I guess we can mate the 18.4" INSAS barrel with this.

.

The barrel length can be increased as per requirement.
The ease of use and the multi faceted features of the ARX-160 are simply awesome.

 

[HariPrasad]

Actually I propose a total ban on this sort of low tech items. Forecast the requirement well in advance and ask DRDO or other agency to do that in stipulated time frame in consultation with end user. If you witness any problem, buy that technology from some country.Develop the weapon in Phases.

 

[IND151]

There's no denying that the return on investment on indigenous weapons produced in bulk can be very significant owing to much lower developmental costs. This is precisely one of the reasons why indigenous options in general tend to be cheaper than foreign ones. It should also be noted, that IA wants the very same OFB units to produce the final downselected imported design that have had quality control issues with the INSAS line. It really begs the question as to exactly how OFB units will produce these new next gen imported designs requiring superior machining and finer tolerances to IA's exacting quality standards when they apparently did not always do the same when it came to the INSAS?

Truth be told, there isn't really that urgent an operational requirement for the fanciest new rifles now is there? Because if that indeed be the case, why is IA still at the comparative trial stage for a process it officially began in 2011 with no real end in sight? Given the problems with foreign procurement that is neither cheap nor timely it is time to seriously look at indigenous options again.

Especially at a time when DRDO's home-grown MCIWS is 'out of the stovepipe and into the light' undergoing technical trials. The MCIWS revealed for the first time right here on 'Geek at Large' earlier this year (Saurav Jha's Blog : A new year for DRDO is an indigenous attempt at a contemporary modular AR exhibiting all the features possessed by the rifles currently in contention for IA's next gen requirement.

Interestingly an indigenous 6.8 mm round has also been developed for use with the MCIWS. The MCIWS' grenade launcher can also fire programmable air burst rounds making it a tie-in for the F-INSAS program. Instead of handing out massive royalties to foreign weapon makers the IA could well decide by putting its weight behind the iterative development of the MCIWS.

Moreover, let DRDO select a production agency(could be from the private sector) for itselfas far as the MCIWSis concerned and give it the option of exporting the weapon irrespective of whether it finds favour with the Indian military or not. If downright imports are 'moral' then downright 'exports' are moral too. Indeed liberalization in this arena should be a two-way street with various classes of FDI allowed and various categories of outright exports allowed too.


And let's not forget OFB either, which warts and all has serious potential and has delivered in the past when there has been 'clarity amongst stakeholders' like in the case of the 105mm Indian Field Gun that continues to be procured by IA even today. Let them upgrade their game in the face of competition. And let the best option win on a proper cost-benefit evaluation based on sustainability, economy and quality with national interest foregrounded.

Source: https://defence.pk/threads/putting-the-indian-armys-desire-to-import-assault-rifles-in-perspective.322547/#ixzz3GUY9

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Long but nice article.

Interestingly an indigenous 6.8 mm round has also been developed for use with the MCIWS

I think its 6.08 MM.

 

[turkish]

Why is the TAR 21 not in Competition?? Can anyone explain ??

 

[Omega007]

I think its 6.08 MM.

No,it's perfectly alright.It's the 6.8X43mm Remington SPC.There is no such round of 6.08mm,Period.

Why is the TAR 21 not in Competition?? Can you anyone explain ??

Because TAR 21 Tavor isn't a multicalibre rifle,that's why.

 

[MilSpec]

And one more thing @sandy_3126 ,don't you think that India should have gone with 6.5mm Grendel/Lapua Scenar instead of the Remington SPC for the FINSAS rifle??I mean the Lapua has a BC of .675 which is the best among all available small arms rounds??What's your take in this??

I did not pay attention to a 7.2 x 45 before either, looks like a Vz52 assault rifle round with better terminal ballistics and range than the 7.62 x 39

I have neither shot the 6.8 or the 6.5 so I don't really have any idea of the recoil on the system, from what i have read, it looks like 6.5 grendel is a better longer range round, compared to the 6,8spc, at medium ranges both have similar performance and at shorter ranges 6.8 spc is a marginally better round than the 6.5 grendel. Another disadvantage with the bigger 6.8 is bullet drop is higher than 6.5...