Why is it in news?

The trials of an assault rifle being developed by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) have made progress after initial bottlenecks. The sixth round was completed in November by the Project Management Team (PMT) and the OFB is gearing up for consistency trials later this year.

Details

• The new 7.62-mm rifle is fully automatic and weighs 4.5 kg. The development of the gun began on October 1, 2016 and some inconsistencies were noticed during the basic trials.
• Initially, there was problem with consistency in the firing. The Army wanted 99% consistency and the achieved consistency was 98%.
• The Army has been trying to replace the in-service INSAS rifle with a modern one, but the tender was withdrawn due to overambitious service quality specifications of having interchangeable barrels capable of firing both 5.56-mm and 7.62-mm calibre bullets. The Army has subsequently decided to go for 7.62-mm calibre and issued fresh General Staff Quality Requirements (GSQR).
• To meet the immediate requirement and the cost factor, the Army has decided to go for two different rifles — import a high-tech rifle in small numbers for the frontline infantry soldiers and procure the indigenous rifle in large numbers to meet the balance requirement.
• The remaining requirement would be through indigenous solutions which would be split between the OFB and the private industry to create competition and get a better product.
• The Project Management Team, which oversees the development comprises representatives from the Army’s Infantry Directorate, the Ishapore Rifle Factory, the Director-General, Quality Assurance, and the Defence Research and Development Organisation
• The initial requirement for 1,85,000 rifles is likely to go up.

Conclusion

In a continuously evolving international combat scenario, it is imperative that Indian armed forces should always be up-to-date with latest weapons and equipment in order to tackle any threats that may arise in future.

Source

The Hindu