Soldiers on the front lines have access to a high-quality assault rifle, the German-American SIG-Sauer 716G2. As part of Atmanirbhar or self-reliant India, the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force will now be able to use high-quality image intensifiers that were approved by Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar.
For frontline troops, India had initially bought 72,400 SIG Sauer assault rifles to replace the INSAS rifle and still effective AK-47 Kalashnikovs. Thereafter, an additional 72,000 were bought. The image intensifiers are likely to be very useful for night fighting.
Also cleared by the DPB were 40 fire control radars for the Indian Army’s air defence. The Rs 1600 crore deal involves the development, testing, and production of these radars indigenously, again as part of the Atmanirbhar process.
