THE FUTURE OF SMALL ARMS DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

The liberalization of the defence manufacturing sector to accommodate private investment, coupled with the initiative for self-reliance as outlined in the “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” policy, has significantly transformed the small arms manufacturing industry. GAGAN CHATURVEDI maps the history and the future of this key segment

- GAGAN CHATURVEDI

"The deadliest weapon in the world is a marine with his rifle"

— John J. Pershing

Modern infantries are defined by the infantryman and his rifle. The two are inseparable and the quest, worldwide, has been to provide the soldier with a weapon that is fast, accurate, reliable and effective against well-equipped adversaries and a saviour in battle. Small arms manufacture in India goes back to the establishment of the Rifle Factory Ishapore in 1904 near present-day Kolkata. The Small Arms Factory, Kanpur was founded during the Second World War. After independence, two more small arms factories were founded at Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu and Korwa in Uttar Pradesh.

All the small arms used in the four wars that India fought during the first 24 years of independence were supplied by the Ordnance Factories. The armed forces transitioned from the .303 rifles to the 7.62 Self Loading Rifle (SLR). In the 1990s, the 5.56mm calibre INSAS was developed by the DRDO and went into mass production in the Ordnance Factories. India produced close to a million INSAS rifles but the rifle continued to be plagued by quality concerns and interoperability of parts. The INSAS reflected the global trend towards a smaller calibre where the injured adversary would impose a cost on the enemy by way of the necessity of organizing battlefield evacuation, providing medical care and future rehabilitation in society.

Subsequently, the need was felt for a higher calibre for enhanced lethality, particularly in the context of anti-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations. This led to the current shift to the 7.62 mm and the purchase of Sig Sauer rifles from the United States to meet the immediate requirement and the establishment of the Indo Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) at Korwa to manufacture the AK203 rifles to meet the demand in the long term.