Indian Army expands arsenal with additional 73,000 SIG716 rifles from US

This purchase comes in the wake of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's recent trip to the United States and builds on a previous contract signed in 2019, taking the total count to 145,400

The Indian Army has placed a follow-up order for an additional 73,000 SIG716 rifles from US-based SiG Sauer, bringing the total count of these rifles to 145,400, according to a Moneycontrol report. 

This purchase comes in the wake of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s recent trip to the United States and builds on a previous contract signed in 2019, under which 72,400 rifles were obtained via fast-track procurement.

The Ministry of Defence initially awarded this contract due to delays in the domestic production of AK-203 Kalashnikov rifles, which are being manufactured in collaboration with Russia, the report added. The first batch of 72,400 SIG716 rifles was acquired through a Rs 647 crore deal.

 

In December, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), led by Singh, approved the procurement of the additional 73,000 rifles. Moreover, in August 2023, the DAC greenlit the acquisition of 40,949 light machine guns at a total estimated cost of Rs 2,165 crore.

AK-203 progress update

The AK-203 project, which started in 2018, encountered delays but recently made headway with the delivery of the first 35,000 rifles. These rifles were assembled at the Korwa ordnance factory in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. The project’s objective is to manufacture six lakh AK-203 rifles over the next decade to meet the demands of the Indian Army, Air Force, and Navy, the report added.

Despite some reports of alleged problems with the SIG716 rifles, the Army has maintained that they perform better in terms of range, lethality, and recoil than the older INSAS and AK-47 models.

Budget allocation remains unchanged

The June Defence Budget for FY25 remained nearly unchanged from the amount allocated in the Interim Budget presented earlier this year. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman disclosed that Rs 6.21 trillion has been set aside for defence, which is only Rs 400 crore more than the Rs 6,21,541 crore allocated in February.

While the Interim Budget designated 13.2 per cent of an anticipated Rs 45.03 trillion in government spending for defence, the new Budget allocated 12.9 per cent of the projected Rs 48.2 trillion expenditure to the sector.

Capital expenditure allocations remain consistent, with Rs 33,411 crore for the Army, Rs 51,052 crore for the Navy, and Rs 58,112 crore for the Air Force, the latter receiving the largest increase.

A notable enhancement in this Budget is the 30 per cent rise in funding for the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), under the capital expenditure category.