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NEW DELHI — The Indian Army continues its quest to procure new assault rifles after the Ministry of Defence canceled a 2011-launched global tender worth $1 billion because, an MoD source said, none of the competitors could meet the requirements.
The Army's need for advanced assault rifles to replace its unreliable Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) rifles is urgent, an Indian Army official said.
"It is disappointing to know that after four years of the procurement process, a tender for buying assault rifles had to be canceled," the Army official said. "Surely something is wrong in the procurement process."
The companies involved in the final competition — Italy's Beretta, US company Colt, Israel Weapon Industries and the Czech Republic's Ceska — have been informed of the decision, the MoD source said.
No MoD official would say why the tender was canceled two years after the trials of the competing weapons had been completed. Neither would any official say how they now plan to procure the assault rifles the Army needs.
Defense analysts criticized the MoD's practice of cancelling tenders several years into the procurement process.
"Underlying the cancellation is weak procurement processes of the Indian Army, which has failed to develop a suitable matrix with specialized staff to evolve viable general staff qualitative requirements, evaluation through simulations before ground trials and realistically estimate cost of procurements," said analyst Rahul Bhonsle, a retired Indian Army brigadier.
While efforts for the procurement of assault rifles continue, the Indian Army official said the Multi-Caliber Individual Weapon System (MCIWS) being developed by the government's Defence Research and Development Organization is not the answer as it still must pass necessary tests. Some media outlets have reported MCIWS will be procured.
"It is not clear if the [MCIWS] has gone through full-scale, all-weather, all-terrain trials," Bhonsle said. "If the Army has given the go-ahead, it is hoped that this is after deliberate consideration and not due to extraneous pressures to support the current trend of Make in India."
The Indian Army proposes to buy 66,000 5.56mm assault rifles to replace the indigenous INSAS rifles, which has been a disappointment for the Army. The service has used the INSAS 5.56mm assault rifle since the 1990s despite complaints of technical faltering. One complaint by the Army was that the 5.56mm rounds were of inferior quality, causing the weapons to misfire.
With the MCIWS still to be cleared by the Army, the MoD could issue a fresh tender to domestic companies that in turn would team with overseas companies to produce the assault rifles, the MoD source said.
"The Army needs a rifle that can engage the enemy at ranges exceeding 300 meters in static combat and fires rapid bursts of four to five rounds in close-quarter battles," Bhonsle said. "This can be met by adopting the 5.56mm standard rifle with variable munitions and suitable change in employment tactics, rather than trying to go in for a technological solution of twin barrels, which is complex and untried."
Defense analyst Mahindra Singh, a retired Indian Army major general, said the MCIWS is unlikely to be ready for another five to six years, but the Army's pressing demand for the assault rifles will have to be met immediately.
Email: vraghuvanshi@defensenews.com
Tender Axed, but India Still Needs New Rifle
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