Indian Armed Forces Evaluating Made In India Carbine For Meeting Urgent Requirement Amid Tensions With China At LAC

Amid the ongoing standoff with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, the Indian Armed Forces are considering to procure 'Made in India' carbines for meeting their urgent requirement as the proposal for acquisition of imported carbines is unlikely to fructify, reports ANI.

According to the report, the Indian Army has been on a lookout for the carbine, an infantry weapon used for close quarter battles, since many years now.

"The carbine produced by the Ordnance Factory Board at its facility in Ishapore in West Bengal has been offered to the armed forces who are now evaluating it for acquisition," government sources were quoted as saying.

The preliminary trials of the weapon were also carried out recently by the officials dealing with the acquisition of weapon systems for the three defence services.

The armed forces reportedly require 3.5 lakh carbines, of which around 94,000 were proposed to be acquired through import route under fast track procedures.

The proposal for acquisition of indigenous carbines reportedly came up after it became clear that the forces would not be procuring the carbines from the foreign country which has exported small quantities of the weapon that too, to a few countries.

Acquisition of these carbines from abroad have been stuck for around two years now as the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has referred the matter to a high-level committee for a decision on it.

The OFB carbine, if selected, would undergo rigorous testing and will be inducted in limited numbers by the defence forces initially.