Why India Isn’t Able To Develop A Rifle Despite Developing Aircraft And Missiles?

India is focusing on becoming self-reliant in defence production since a long time. More and more platforms and weapons are being developed and manufactured indigenously. There are many success stories like Tejas fighter jet, India’s missile program, and many more. But still, India is not truly Aatmanirbhar in terms of assault rifles.

In this article, we will try to analyze why India isn’t able to develop such a basic weapon for its armed forces. We will also have a look at the present status of assault rifles and what are the plans for the upcoming time. Also, we will look if there are any good indigenous options and what is their future.

Current Status Of Assault Rifles Of India’s Security Forces-

Currently, INSAS (Indian small arms system) rifles are the standard issue weapon of Indian armed forces and CAPFs. INSAS family of rifles consist of various rifles like 5.56 mm assault rifle and INSAS LMG. But in operational areas, forces use different weapons. These include mostly AK series rifles, advanced Israeli and US weapons like Tavor and Sig sauer respectively. There is a plan to replace INSAS with Russian-origin AK-203.

Why an indigenous options was not chosen over AK-203?

Before going to the answer of this question, let’s have a brief look at INSAS and the issues with it.

INSAS: India’s Effort Towards An Indigenous Assault Rifle-

INSAS was introduced in 1990s as a standard infantry weapon for India’s defence forces. But soon some major issues started coming up.

These were-

• Small calibre of 5.56×45 mm compared to a 7.62 mm round which is more lethal.
• Frequent jamming
• Magzine cracking in cold weather.
• Rifle firing in automatic mode when set for 3-round burst mode.
• Spraying of oil in the eyes of operator.

Most of the issues were solved but major issue like small calibre continued.

So the quest for a new standard rifle started in 2005. Finally, in 2018, AK-203 was selected. This rifle will be produced in India by Ordnance Factories Board with complete transfer of technology. Thus it will be a made-in-India assault rifle but not truly an indigenous one.

Why India Couldn’t Develop An Indigenous Assault Rifle?

Let’s look into the possible reasons one by one.

1. Public Sector Monopoly In Defence Production-

Until recently design, development, and manufacturing of assault rifles were solely done by the state-owned Ordnance Factories Board (OFB). Various factories of OFB made their efforts. OFB Ishapore, OFB Trichy made different variants to replace INSAS. But this monopoly hindered the growth of private sector industries.

2. No Private participation in Research and Development-

FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) was not allowed in defence sector for a long time after the independence. In 2001, 26% of FDI was allowed through the direct route. Last year, i.e. in 2020 74% FDI was allowed through the direct route and 100% through the Government route. But the results of this initiative will take time to fructify.

3. Misplaced Focus On Small Calibre INSAS-

India’s defence forces went for a 5.56 mm round with INSAS. There was a doctrine behind this move. It was to incapacitate the enemy with smaller round instead of killing him in order to halt advancing enemy forces. This doctrine might have been useful in a full-fledged war. But it proved counterproductive in anti-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations. Thus forces decided to go back to the 7.62mm round. This wasted precious time and effort.

4. Lack Of Technology-

Defence industrial base is lacking in India compared to other major powers. Designing and production of assault rifles require very precise machinery along with testing infrastructure.

Also previous effort i.e. INSAS is actually the reverse engineering of British FN-FAL rifle and not a totally new technology.

5. Poor Quality Of Ammunition-

Rigorous testing is done during the developmental trials of a rifle. But the faulty ammunition can seriously hinder this procedure. There are numerous reports of alleged faulty ammunition from OFB. However private industries are coming up in this sector but it will take time for them to reach full potential.

6. Near Perfect Design Of AK Series Assault Rifle-

After the 1940s, there has not been any major innovation in the basic technology of assault rifles. Changes are made only in design and specifications. The design of AK series rifles is generally considered to be perfect. Thus they become the natural choice. Thus we can’t really blame Indian innovators for not coming up with a new assault rifle. It’s just the issue of making the right design.

7. Preference To Buying-

Some people make allegations on Indian defence procurement that it generally prefers buying foreign weapons and platforms even if they are available in India. This is because of alleged large-scale corruption in defence procurements. There is comparatively less scope for corruption in indigenous deals.

What Is The Future Of India’s Indigenous Assault Rifle-

India will procure around 7.5 lakh AK-203 assault rifles. Around 1.44 lakh Sig-716 have been already purchased for immediate needs.

Indian private defence companies are coming up with new options. SSS defence has presented its P-72 series of rifles in 2018. But will they be procured?

The future is not grim for these options as requirement of Indian security forces in much more than 7.5 lakh rifles. Thus the remaining numbers can be made up with these indigenous assault rifles.

Conclusion-

India’s failure in developing a reliable indigenous assault rifle is due to different factors discussed above. But things are changing now. The government is taking various concrete steps like promoting FDI in defence sector through various models. The negative import list is a major step in this regard. It has banned the import of 7.62×39 mm assault rifles along with other small arms. Thus the future is bright for India’s small arms industry.