India has ordered an additional 73,000 rifles from US company Sig Sauer.

A formal announcement about the ‘SIG716’ rifles was made by the US company today as Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh ended his five-day visit to the US.

Inda had, in 2019, ordered 72,400 rifles. After the latest order, the total number of such rifles goes up to 1,45,400.

“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,” a statement of the US company said.

The Indian Army after using the first lot of these rifles provided feedback to the company. The rifle is classified as a ‘7.62 chambered’ class with a 16 inch barrel with a telescope.

Courtesy: The Tribune India: 28th Aug , 2024