By: Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — The Indian Army is hunting the global market to buy 5,000 sniper rifles, and preference will be given to the overseas vendor who agrees to manufacture the sniper rifles in India under a technology transfer, according to a senior Ministry of Defence (MoD) official.
However, an executive of an overseas defense company, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the requested number of 5,000 is too small an order for any overseas vendor to transfer technology. "In case the number increases, then many (overseas companies) could be interested," the executive added.
Last week, the Army sent a request for information (RFI) to overseas companies to elicit their interest in participating in the sniper rifle program. The solicitation was sent to Blaser Jagdwaffen GmbH of Germany; Steyr Mannlicher of Austria; SIG Sauer of Switzerland; Israel Weapon Industries of Israel; Kalashnikov Concern (Izhevsk Machinebuilding Plant) and KBP Instrument Design Bureau of Russia; Armalite and Barrett Firearms Manufacturing of the United States; and Nexter and PGM Précision of France.
The Army is seeking sniper rifles that fire 8.6mm bullets and have a higher caliber than its aging Russian Dragunov 7.62-caliber, 51mm rifles currently in operation. The new sniper rifles would replace the Dragunov rifles.
Read the full story at DefenseNews