HEADLINE: Multiple misfires: The search for an Indian AK-47

STRAP:

Indian innovation is unmatched in the world, and the proof of that is the
spectacular success of the Mars and Moon missions on shoestring budgets. Now
an Indian Army soldier has transformed a shoddy AK-47 clone no doubt
designed by some desk jockey bureaucrat into a usable weapon that can even
fire corner shots.
According to media reports, (http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/awaitingreplacements-indian-soldiers-modify-ageing-rifles-1266855) the Indian Army has
been able to reduce the overall length and weight of the existing Indian Small
Arms System (INSAS) weapons, thereby reducing fatigue and enhancing
accuracy. Impressed with his ingenuity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given
an "innovation certificate" to the soldier.

Timothy D. Hoyt, professor of strategy, writes in 'Military Industry and Regional

Defense Policy: India, Iraq and Israel', (https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=_IRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&dq=120+mm+field+gun+made+in+india&so
urce=bl&ots=NZDyJWr_oV&sig=7tB5bz_ZGoQC108QrMmOO2XVTM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwirmqOhpePNAhWJjpQKHd9
JBKsQ6AEIVTAK#v=onepage&q=120%20mm%20field%20gun%20made%20in
%20india&f=false)
http://www.news18.com/blogs/india/lt-gen-syed-ata-hasnain/the-armydesperately-needs-to-upgrade-its-family-of-small-arms-14405-1236056.html
http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/awaiting-replacements-indian-soldiers-modifyageing-rifles-1266855

Armys role
However, Although the Indian Army hasnt revealed the soldiers identity either
for security reasons or because the commanders
fed up of rubbish rifles
at the Ordnance Factory Board

http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/multi-calibre-assault-rifle-make-in-india-vsmade-in-india/0/

Indian 'AK-47' too fast for its own good

Shishir Arya | TNN | Jan 14, 2012, 04.22 AM IST
NAGPUR: Even as soldiers in combat zones insist on carrying AK-47s instead of the
indigenous INSAS rifles, a home-made AK-like weapon has finally appealed to the
paramilitary forces. However, the Indian rifle, originally designed to fire faster than the
Russian Kalashnikov itself, may have to slow down a bit, just to ensure smooth shooting.
This process may delay its introduction by 7-8 months.
Called the Trichy Assault Rifle (TAR), the gun is being developed at the Tiruchirapalli
Ordnance Factory in Tamil Nadu. The faster firing capacity was the USP for the Indian AK. It
could fire 800 bullets in a minute as against 600 from the Russian rifle.
However, this speed has also led to a hitch, which was noticed during trials held recently.
There were stoppages during firing at times. Rectifying the error will lead to a lower firing
rate, even though the Indian version is expected to remain ahead of the original Kalashnikov,
firing close to 650 rounds a minutes.
Ironically, the gun's developers are not worried about the changes as such, but the time
required in the process.
Special permission to make 120 new TARs, with the issue resolved, has been obtained from
the 'AK-47'(OFB). But it may not take less than 7-8 months to finish the job. The delay will
be more procedural than technical, say sources.
Making certain parts will need outsourcing of raw materials. Being a government
organization, the entire process of issuing tenders, evaluating bids and getting final approval
will have to be followed. This will consume most of the time in coming up with the new rifle.
Trials were conducted by representatives of various forces like ITBP, BSF, CRPF and Seema
Suraksha Bal. Officials of one of the paramilitary forces evaluating the rifle insisted on early
modification, so that a decision is taken on acquiring the indigenous weapon. "There are
chances that they may have to go for imports if the rectified version is not put up soon," a
source said.
As far as the stoppages are concerned, they are said to be because of a simple mechanical
reason say sources in the developing agency. To increase the rate of fire, the travel time for
the bullet to leave the barrel was reduced. However, it was seen during rapid firing sessions
that at times the subsequent bullet would reach the point where the empty cartridge of the
first shot was yet to be ejected. A narrow ejection window also added to the problem, leading
to the jamming.
One does not encounter such a problem in the original AK-47 even when the bullets are fired
rapidly, because enough time gap is ensured between the travel of two bullets and throwing
out of the empty cartridge. Similar changes will have to be made in the Indian gun too. The
travel time will be increased so that there is a gap between two rounds and diameter of the
ejection window will also be increased.
Such jamming is not a frequent problem, but will have to be solved. This will reduce the rate
of fire to 650 rounds a minute, sources said.
The developers call it a new rifle altogether, as the mechanism which pushes the bullet is
different from the AK-47 developed by Russia's Mikhail Kalashnikov. In fact, ordnance
factory had developed a rifle similar to AK-47, but Kalashnikov himself had raised copyright
objections.

So, a new rifle, which pushes the bullet through a tilting breach block rather than a rotating
system like in the Russian version, was developed. It hoped to do away with the copyright
hassles, sources said. The gun was developed based on feedback from troops in paramilitary
forces, including those in Naxal-hit areas, who preferred an AK-like weapon instead of the
INSAS.
Army prefers multi-barrel rifles
The ordnance factory is targeting paramilitary forces to sell the rifle rather than the army,
since the latter is already going ahead with the purchase of multi-calibre rifles. The army is
scouting the international market to buy rifles with interchangeable barrels of different
calibres, like 7.52, 5.56 and 6.68mm. Talks are underway with US' Colt, Baretta from Italy
and Israeli Military Industry (IMI). The ordnance factory is not in the fray for multi-barrel
rifles so far. Experts also believe it would not be practical for a soldier to use such a weapon.
Moreover, after initial procurement there are chances that subsequent batches of the multibarrel rifles may be made in India itself, a source said.
Not going great guns
The TAR has been built to fire faster than the AK 47 but the very speed which was its USP is
also the reason for stoppages during rapid fire. This is because by the time one bullet is shot
off and the empty cartridge thrown out, the other one already reaches the same point in the
gun. At times, after prolonged fire, it creates a sort of traffic jam in the gun, leading to
stoppages.
In the AK 47, on the other hand, the timing is such that rapid firing is a smooth affair. This is
because enough time gap is ensured between the travel of two bullets and the process of
throwing out of the empty cartridge.
Ordnance Factory hopes to reduce the stoppages in the TAR by increasing the time lag. But
even after this, TAR will be able to fire 650 rounds a minute, 50 more than the AK.
The developers apprehend more of a procedural delay than a technical one, due to the slow
pace at which government departments function.
A rectified TAR will have to be presented well in time to make it a choice over imports.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Indian-AK-47-too-fast-for-its-owngood/articleshow/11482089.cms
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/anti-naxal-operations-crpf-prefers-akrifles-to-insas-bulk-purchase-on-cards/
http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9131
https://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?t=13288
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/article-3149576/Made-India-rifle-replace-INSASModified-Excalibur-currently-undergoing-trials-meet-Army-requirements.html
http://www.janes.com/article/54148/indian-army-pushes-ahead-with-excalibur-rifleprogramme
http://sputniknews.com/world/20150312/1019394093.html
http://www.news18.com/blogs/india/lt-gen-syed-ata-hasnain/the-army-desperately-needs-toupgrade-its-family-of-small-arms-14405-1236056.html
A-7 assault rifle: aaa

(http://sputniknews.com/world/20150312/1019394093.html)
INSAS and Excalibur: India can launch 22 satellites atop a single rocket, make aircraft
carriers and complex nuclear-powered submarines, but totally sucks at making a simple rifle.
Indias locally made INSAS was such a hideous apology of a gun that both the Indian Army
and the paramilitary forces have asked for Russian replacements. According to the Central
Reserve Police Force, the "INSAS gun gets frequently jammed at crucial times and is a
danger to the life of soldiers during anti-insurgency operations. While the error percentage
in AK guns is 0.02 per cent, in INSAS it is 3 per cent, it said.
In response to the SOS, India imported 67,000 Kalashnikovs for the CRPF. In a stinging
indictment of Indian rifle technology, the CRPF said: What we can't afford is a gun jamming
during an encounter. Thankfully, the government has realised the lives of our (soldiers) are
more important than promotion of faulty indigenous technology.
AKM Rifle :
India imported thousands of AKMs from Eastern European nations. To meet further demand
from the armed forces, Indian Ordnance Factory Board started making unlicenced copies.
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/CRPF-deployed-in-Red-zones-will-get-AK47s/articleshow/47056164.cms)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipment_of_the_Indian_Army
https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=_IRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&dq=120+mm+field+gun+made+in+india&source=bl
&ots=NZDyJWr_oV&sig=7tB5bz_ZGoQC108QrMmOO2XVTM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwirmqOhpePNAhWJjpQKHd9JBK
sQ6AEIVTAK#v=onepage&q=120%20mm%20field%20gun%20made%20in
%20india&f=false
https://books.google.co.nz/books?
id=XM5oZYYvEmYC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=120+mm+field+gun+made+in+india&so
urce=bl&ots=tDQYQlksTf&sig=_vxEHT6VfmQgDqtuDcAZlnfjDE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwirmqOhpePNAhWJjpQKHd9
JBKsQ6AEIUjAJ#v=onepage&q=120%20mm%20field%20gun%20made%20in
%20india&f=false
https://21stcenturyasianarmsrace.com/2015/10/26/these-incredible-weapons-are-made-inindia/
http://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/article598145.ece
================
INSAS-weary army shops for new infantry arms
By N C Bipindra - NEW DELHI
Published: 16th Dec 2012 09:17:02 AM

Photos

India is in the process of issuing tenders for light machine guns and sniper rifles, thus
completing the basic infantry quartet of small arms. | EPS
The Indian Army has half a million rifles and carbines it doesnt want, and now plans to junk
them all over the next five years. The dark lining is that these infantry weapons were
developed and manufactured in India to equip four lakh soldiers at an expenditure of Rs
25,000 crore over two decades. So far, so bad. Now add another Rs 50,000 crore that will
have to be spent over the next decade to re-equip our soldiers with the four kinds of weapons
that are key to the Armys Future Infantry Soldier as a System programme, and the
magnitude of this self-inflicted wound becomes painfully apparent.
The INSAS, or Indian Small Arms System, was developed by the Armament Research and
Development Establishment (ARDE), a laboratory of the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO), as per specific requirements the Indian Army
formulated in the late eighties. The usual delays hounded the programme, stretching the
design development across a decade. The Ordnance Factories Board, tasked with mass
production of the INSAS weapons took another five years to get going; the family of
weapons was first seen with Indian Army uniforms only on Republic Day 1998.
The war that broke out in Kargil next year saw the INSAS put to test, and a spate of
complaints about malfunctioning and build quality of the rifle poured out of Himalayan
battlefields. The rifle jammed, its polymer magazine cracked in the cold, it would go full
automatic when set for a three-round burst. Many jawans remained unconvinced about the
stopping power of its 5.56 mm round; they wanted their heavy 7.62s back. It didnt help that
the Nepal Army, one of the few INSAS customers outside India, had its complaints too. The
INSAS glitches were fixed but advancement in firearms technology had rendered the
weapons system too obsolete for the rapidly modernising Indian Army by then.
According to Lt. Gen. (Retd) P C Katoch, a Parachute Regiment officer, the INSAS family
were not the best of weapons. There were a number of problems with these rifles, he
said, noting that the DRDO and OFB could come up with only such weapons after 15 years
of work.

India has now issued tenders for standard rifles and carbines and is in the process of issuing
tenders for light machine guns and sniper rifles, thus completing the basic infantry quartet of
small arms. Another senior serving officer said on condition of anonymity that the defence
ministry had approved the import of these weapons because it is aware of the problems and
that the development of new weapons is not possible in a jiffy. India spends nearly Rs
7,000 crore annually on defence research and development, and has 39 ordnance factories to
manufacture weapons for its 13-lakh strong armed forces but, in the words of another senior
officer: The DRDO and OFB have failed to develop one good, modern weapon with which
the troops are satisfied. As a result, we had to go in for foreign-made equipment and have
issued tenders for these.
The Indian Army is in the final stages of choosing a 5.56mm/7.62mm rifle to replace the
standard INSAS 5.56mm rifle, the basic infantry weapon. We want a rifle with new, modern
features, an infantry officer told The Sunday Standard.
The new rifle will be chosen from six offered by five foreign manufacturers American
Colt, Italian Beretta, Swiss Sig Sauer, Czech Ceska, and Israeli Weapons Industry (IWI). The
rifle will have two inter-changeable barrels for 5.56 mm and 7.62mm calibres. While 5.56mm
will be the primary barrel, the 7.62mm, the same as Kalashnikov calibre, will be used only in
counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operation sectors of Jammu and Kashmir and the
North-east. The two barrels will be issued to the soldier, who would change them in the field
according to his peace or operations posting. Otherwise, one of the two barrels will be
mothballed and kept in the sector stores for use in times of need. The Indian Army is looking
at initially buying 65,000 of these rifles at a cost of Rs 4,850 crore and plans its first
induction by the middle of 2014. Through a transfer of technology, the Indian ordnance
factories will manufacture another 1,40,000 rifles.
The second weapon for which tenders have been issued is the close quarter battle carbines.
Initially, the Indian Army will be buying 43,000 of one of the carbines offered by Beretta,
Colt, Sig Sauer and IWI at a proposed cost of Rs 3,200 crore. These will be inducted in early
2014. Another, 1,20,000 carbines of the chosen company will be licence-manufactured by the
OFB.
The Indian Army is formulating qualitative requirements for two other weaponsa 5.56mm
Light Machine Gun, and sniper riflesnow, and the tender will be issued shortly. The
INSAS LMG in use now has a range of 700 metres and weighs 6.23 kg. The requirement for
the new LMG is a range up to 1,000 metres. The weapon will be lightweight and be more
lethal, officers said. This weapon too will be imported initially and later manufactured in
India through technology transfer.
The sniper rifle in use with the Indian Army at present is the 1963-vintage Dragunov. But its
ammunition is not manufactured by the OFB in India and needs to be bought from abroad
frequently. It has a 800-metre range without a tripod and a fixed sighting system without
magnification. The new sniper weapon would have a tripod to provide it stability, have a
range of 1,000 metres with a sight variable magnification fitted to provide the sniper better
accuracy.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/article1381326.ece

http://ofbindia.gov.in/products/data/weapons/wsc/21.htm