New Delhi, Aug 28: At a time when terrorist groups operating in India are likely to get weapons left behind by American troops in Afghanistan, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has signed a deal for acquiring 70,000 AK-103 assault rifles from Russia under emergency provisions to replace its existing inventory of INSAS rifles.
The India Air Force (IAF) has a requirement of over 1.5 lakh new assault rifles and the new AK-103 rifles expected to come within the next few months into the service would strengthen its capability to tackle terrorist attacks in a much better way.
“The contract worth around Rs 300 crore was signed last week under emergency provisions to buy 70,000 AK-103 assault rifles from Russia. The weapons would be first provided to troops in field areas like Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar along with sensitive air bases,” government sources told ANI.
The remaining part of the requirement would be met after India and Russia sign a deal to produce the more advanced AK-203 together within India. The contract for the AK-203 assault rifles is being processed under the Army which requires around 6.5 lakh of these rifles to strengthen its troops’ firepower.
A small portion of the IAF requirement was met by the acquisition of around 4,000 Sig Sauer assault rifles that have been procured as part of a larger contract by the Indian Army. (ANI)
