Rifles, air defence guns to be now made in India

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, May 6

The decision of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to not go ahead with more Sig Sauer rifles adds to the list of weapons and equipment that will now be made in India and not imported.

The Rs 700-crore repeat order for buying 72,400 more rifles was approved in 2020. It is now held back. Now this will be a make-in-India project for Indian private and public sector industries.

Earlier in January, the tender for very short-range air defence (VSHORAD) missiles was held back. This was for the Army and Navy. It was worth over $5.2 billion for 5,175 missiles and 1,276 single and multi-launchers with technology transfer to the defence public sector undertakings (DPSU). This will now be open for Indian companies.

The programme to get five regiments of Self-Propelled Air Defence Gun Missile systems worth $3 billion is pending with a negotiation committee.

Also, by the end of this year, the following items will not be imported: Long Range Reconnaissance and Observation System, weapon-locating radar (plain and deserts), upgrade for GRAD (a weapon systems) carrying vehicle, advance infantry floating foot bridge, armour piercing ammunition and the mobile autonomous launcher (Brahmos).