LONDON: India has negotiated an arms deal for acquiring over 1 lakh {AK assault rifles from Rumania, after the Bulgarians failed to supply the order earlier this year, according to sources. India had ordered to purchase the same number of AK47 assault rifles from Bulgaria which were to be delivered by March end this year, but the Bulgarians were unable to put up a 10% performance guarantee of the total contract value estimated to be 7.5 million US dollars.

Tenders for assault rifles were re~ issued earlier this year, some months after the Bulgarians, which had contacted to supply the weapons at 65 US dollars apiece were unable to deliver the weapons,

There were reports that India had purchased about 30 million rounds of Kalashnikov ammunition reportedly from North Korea for the assault rifles.

The reports said that Romanian version of the world-famous AK47 assault rifles was produced by Remtchnica and differed a little as tig pistol grip was made of laminated wood. Indian military sources say that most of the assault rifles were being time ported for use by newly raised Rashtriya Rifles, a paramilitary organization under the Indian Defence Ministry. Most of the Rashtriya Rifles had been deployed in count eringency operations in Jammu and Kashmir,

India was importing the assault rifles s an intermediate requirement because of delay in it’s own indigenous” 5.56 mm range of light weapons.

India’s light weapon program was: running almost four years behind schedule. The 5.56 mm range of Tight weapons have been designed to re place the 7.62 mm self-loading rifles in use by Indian security forces Officials of the Ordinance Factory Board, which is manufacturing. the 5.56 mm range of light weapons, were blaming bureaucratic delays in importing machine tools to makeover & million assault rifles required by the Indian Army, paramilitary and other security agencies. Indian Army officials said that INSAS, India’s light weapons program, was maladjusted being 4 mix: lure of three Western models which had repeatedly been rejected by the armed forces for its defective firing mechanism and inaccuracy during trials. India was importing these Kalishinkov rifles for use by its security forces in Kashmir against militants.

Article extracted from this publication >>  September 22, 1995