The DRDO’s Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) in collaboration with Dvipa Armour India Private Limited, a private company based in Hyderabad, developed the ‘Ugram Rifle’ in less than 100 days.
The weapon will fire 7.62 mm ammunition, which will make it more lethal than Rifles that use 5.62 mm rounds, such as the INSAS Rifle, which is frequently used by Indian military forces, including paramilitary groups. As per the Indian Express, the ‘Ugram’ Rifle has been designed with consideration for the operational needs of law enforcement, paramilitary, and military units. Ugram Rifle has been developed considering the army’s General Staff Qualitative Requirements (GSQR).
One of the first steps in the capital procurement process is GQSR. It describes the equipment’s physical and functional characteristics, the reasons behind its necessity, and the standards for quality and maintainability.
Specifications of Ugram Rifle
(a) The Rifle weighs four kilograms and has an effective range of 500 meters.
(b) The 7.62 mm rounds that the Ugram Rifle will fire will make it more powerful.
(c) The weapon fires in single and automatic modes and holds 20 bullets.
ARDE Director Ankathi Raju told Indian Express, “We started working on this mission-mode project two years ago.”We began looking for a private industry partner for development and manufacturing after the ARDE designed the Rifle,” ARDE Director Ankathi Raju told Indian Express.
The director of ARDE stated that “To move the project along quickly, we have adhered to the Development cum Production Partner, or DcPP, idea. As a result, the vendor collaborates with us throughout the design and production phases. The product will go through acceptance trials following the vendor’s manufacturing. We ordered the assault weapon from Dvipa Armour, which is located in Hyderabad. Trials for the gun will shortly begin,”
About AK-203 Rifle
The goal of Fast Track Procurement is to swap out the outdated INSAS weapon, which is still in use and was first used in combat in the 1999 Kargil conflict.
India and Russia are working together to build the AK-203 Rifle, which uses 7.62 mm ammunition. A joint venture called Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) was founded to produce AK-203 Rifles domestically. They are now being tested and manufactured at an Indo-Russian joint venture in Uttar Pradesh.
Due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, PLR is selling weapons to Israel Weapon Industries, and as a result, the AK-203 project has not progressed as planned.
About SIG Sauer’s SIG716 Rifle
An order for 72,400 SIG 716 model rifles has been placed. The first batch of 10,000 Rifles was shipped to the Northern Command of the Indian Army in December 2019. Additionally, Sig Sauer verified that the first order’s delivery was finished previously. In December 2023, another batch of 70,000 Rifles was approved for purchase using the Fast Track Procurement procedure.
