The Indian Air Force (IAF) has signed an agreement with Russia for the purchase of 70 thousand AK-103 assault rifles. However, these rifles being procured under emergency provisions will replace the indigenously manufactured INSAS rifles already with the Indian Air Force.
The IAF has taken the decision of this emergency purchase keeping in mind the possibility of modern weapons of US troops in Afghanistan reaching the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist organizations operating in India.
A government source said that the IAF is currently in need of more than 1.5 lakh new assault rifles. With the possible delivery of about 70,000 of these rifles in the next few months, IAF personnel will be able to deal with terrorist attacks more effectively.
Explain that the provision of emergency procurement is to bridge the critical gap in the three wings of the Indian Army in their war preparedness. However, under this, the armed forces can choose the weapon of their choice and choose a direct method of procurement, which can be delivered within one year.
The Indian Air Force will give these 70 thousand AK-103 rifles to its Garuda Special Commando Unit, which is stationed at airbases across the country. However, first of all, it will be made available to the commando units deployed at sensitive Air Force airbases in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
The AK-103 is an upgraded version of the dreaded AK-47 and is already being used by Marine commandos of the Indian Navy. Also, Naval commandos stationed at Wular Lake in the Kashmir Valley have successfully used it in several operations there.
Out of the 1.5 lakh rifles sought by the Air Force, the remaining 80 thousand assault rifles will be manufactured in India under 'Make in India'. These 80 thousand rifles will be an upgraded version AK-203 instead of AK-103, which will be manufactured in a joint venture of India and Russia in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. These will be part of the order of 6.5 lakh AK-203 rifles being given by the Indian Army.
The Indian Air Force is also going to get 4000 Sig Sauer assault rifles made in the US, which are part of the purchase order of 1.5 lakh Sig Sauer and 16000 Negev light machine guns given by the Indian Army after the Chinese incursion in Eastern Ladakh.
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