Defence Ministry approves procurement of over 70,000 SiG 716 rifles from the US

This is a repeat order. In 2019, India procured 72,400 SiG 716 rifles under the govt’s ‘Buy (Global) category’.

File photo of a defence personnel armed with a SiG 716 rifle near the Line of Control | Photo: Snehesh Alex Philip | ThePrint

New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence has cleared the procurement of 70,000 US-made Sig Sauer assault rifles worth Rs 800 crore for the Army, according to sources in the defence and security establishment. 

This is a repeat order, as reported by ThePrint earlier. In February 2019, 72,400 SiG 716 rifles of 7.62 x 51mm calibre were contracted through the fast-track procedure (FTP) from American firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer Inc under the government’s ‘Buy (Global)’ category.

The ‘Buy (Global)’ category refers to the off-the-shelf purchase of equipment from foreign vendors. 

Of the 72,400 rifles that were then procured, 66,400 were for the Army, 4,000 for the Air Force, and 2,000 for the Navy. The Army, which had initially planned to issue these rifles only to frontline troops, later decided to equip all its more than 400 infantry battalions with them. 

Defence sources had said then that the weapon was selected because of a revision in the Army’s operational philosophy in 2016. This led to 7.62 x 51mm calibre rifles being chosen over 5.56 x 45mm calibre ones as having the optimum calibre for operations. 

The SiG 716 Assault Rifle, being of higher calibre (7.62 x 51mm), has a longer range, more lethality, and higher recoil as compared to the INSAS Rifle (5.56 x 51mm Calibre) or the AK-47 Rifle (7.62 x 39mm), which are also used.

ThePrint had reported in July 2021 that the Army replaced the original American-made ammunition with locally manufactured 7.62 medium machine gun (MMG) ones because the American bullets were not affordable in the long run.

The SiG 716 has a higher recoil and higher calibre, and is meant to shoot-to-kill at a distance of 600 metres. This is unlike the INSAS, which has a lower range and is not designed to kill at longer distances, and the AK-47, which fires a smaller round. 

But the American rifles are reportedly meant to be a stop-gap arrangement to address the shortfall of small arms among the soldiers. At the same time, India is jointly producing AK-203 rifles with Russia at Amethi’s ordnance factory. 

Apart from this, in August 2021, India finalised a deal with Russia to buy AK-103 series assault rifles for the Indian Army under the provision of emergency procurement.