The Indian Army is issuing its SIG716 rifles to front-line units deployed in counter-insurgency operations and troops deployed along India's disputed borders with Pakistan and China. (SIG Sauer)
US small-arms manufacturer SIG Sauer has signed a contract with the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) to supply the Indian Army with an additional 73,000 SIG716 7.62×51 mm rifles.
The new deal, announced 26 August, follows a contract awarded to the company in February 2019 for an initial batch of 72,400 SIG716 rifles.
SIG Sauer said in a press release that the “fielding and soldier acceptance” of the first batch led to the follow-on contract. The company added that the SIG716 rifles will be built at its facilities in the US.
India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the procurement of the additional SIG716 rifles in December 2023 for a cost of INR8.4 billion (USD100 million).
The first-batch purchase was valued at USD90 million and progressed through the Indian MoD's fast-track procurement procedure, which requires deliveries to be completed within one year of contract signing. The second-batch rifles are likely being procured through the same procedure.
The procured SIG716 rifles are replacing the Indian Army's locally made Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) 5.56 mm assault rifles that entered service in the mid-1990s but were declared operationally inadequate by the army in early 2010.
The SIG716 rifles are being issued to front-line Indian Army units deployed in counter-insurgency operations as well as to troops deployed along India's disputed borders with Pakistan and China.
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