By: Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — India has begun a global hunt to buy 185,000 7.62x51mm-caliber assault rifles, with more than $1 billion set aside for acquisition project, putting into question the fate of the homegrown assault rifle Excalibur, which is still in development by the state-owned Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
The fresh request for information (RFI) issued last week contains modified requirements and is expected to receive positive results, according to an official with the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The official said the formal tender will be issued in April 2017.
"That project [Excalibur] does not have any future as Indian Army's requirement is of 7.62x51mm, whereas Excalibur is 7.62x45mm," a senior Indian Army official said.
Rahul Bhonsle, a retired Indian Army brigadier and defense analyst, said: "DRDO projects will remain technology demonstrators given that they do not provide the confidence to the customer, the Indian Armed Forces, that these weapons systems are modern or state of the art."
No DRDO official was available to comment on the fate of the Excalibur assault rifle.
Read the full story at DefenseNews