American weapons manufacturer Sig Sauer on Tuesday, August 27, announced that India's Ministry of Defence has placed an order for 73,000 SIG716 rifles.
“SIG SAUER, Inc., is honoured to announce a second procurement contract with the Government of India, Ministry of Defence to supply an additional 73,000 SIG716 rifles,” the US firm said in a statement.
This is India's second procurement order to Sig Sauer in five years. According to the company, the Indian government ordered 72,400 rifles from the arms maker in 2019. After the completion of the new deal, more than 1.45 lakh Sig Sauer SIG716 rifles will be in service in the Indian Army.
Of the 72,400 rifles procured, 66,400 were for the Army, 4,000 for the Air Force, and 2,000 for the Navy. Indian Army initially planned to issue these rifles only to frontline troops but decided later to equip all of its more than 400 infantry battalions with them.
“We are proud to be a partner in the modernisation effort of the Indian Army, and prouder still that the SIG716 rifle achieves the Ministry of Defence’s modernisation goals with the second largest army in the world,” Ron Cohen, president and chief executive officer of Sig Sauer, said in the statement.
The company reported extraordinary user responses to its SIG716 rifle in terms of reliability and performance. The New Hampshire-based weapons maker is strengthening its partnership with India's defence ministry to pursue future deals.
“Since the initial fielding of the SIG716, we have received phenomenal end-user feedback on the performance and reliability of the platform. Throughout this time, we have strengthened and further solidified our partnership with the Indian Ministry of Defence and are honoured to earn their continued trust in equipping their frontline infantrymen,” Sig Sauer stated.
The SIG716 rifle is an improved version of a rifle in the ArmaLite Rifle (AR) platform chambered 7.62 NATO. It features a 16-inch barrel, an M-LOK handguard, and a 6-position telescoping stock. According to the company statement, it designs and builds rifles for the Indian Army and various other clients in the United States.
The SIG 716 has a higher recoil and higher calibre, meant to shoot-to-kill targets at 600 metres. The Sig Sauer assault rifle reportedly has a higher range, more lethality, and higher recoil than the INSAS and the AK-47, which fires a smaller round.
