Whatever the reason, India has seen a need to equip more soldiers with better rifles, and fast.Дuring his trip to India in February 2020, President Trump addressed a crowd in Ahmedabad at the worldвЂ™s largest cricket stadium on the economic partnership between India and the United States. However, slow production of the Russian-licensed AK-203s may be to blame. The exact reason for the return purchase is unknown. вЂњWe are going to place an order for 72,000 more of these rifles under the financial powers granted to the armed forces,вЂќ Defence sources told Asian News International. Moreover, in July 2020, India doubled down on their purchase. The first shipments of the SIG716 have already been issued to the troops of the Indian ArmyвЂ™s Northern Command. The rifles purchased by India also include a full-auto fire mode, although the practicality of an automatic infantry rifle chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO is up for debate. It features an ambidextrous selector switch and accepts AR10/SR25-style magazines. The rifle uses standard AR-15 controls like the charging handle, bolt catch/release, and magazine release. Additionally, the Indian model features 1913 rails on the 12 and 6 oвЂ™clock of the handguard, a feature not found on commercial variants of the SIG716. Though the rifle is offered in direct-impingement and short-stroke piston gas systems, the Indian model appears to use the former. The SIG716 was designed as a precision rifle with military and law enforcement marksmen in mind (Sig Sauer)ДЄlthough, the exact specifications of the Indian SIG716 rifles was not released, the weapon does appear to differ slightly from the off-the-shelf variant. Sig Sauer also recently won a contract to provide the U.S. military with its new sidearm, the M17/M18 pistol. The New Hampshire-based company is hot on government contracts as it continues to supply the U.S. вЂњWe are very proud, and honored that the SIG716 was chosen for use by the fighting forces of the Indian Army, and we are looking forward to developing a strong partnership with IndiaвЂ™s Ministry of Defence,вЂќ said Ron Cohen, President and CEO of Sig Sauer. The same year, India announced a deal with Sig Sauer to purchase 72,400 rifles chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO. Chambered in the venerable 7.62x39mm and based on the AK-74M, the AK-203 was designed in Russia and produced at the Amethi ordnance factory in India under license. Conversely, the rifles would be replaced by the domestically-manufactured AK-203. The light machine gun variants were replaced by the Negev Ng7 produced by Israel Weapon Industries. In March 2019, the Indian military announced that the INSAS family would be retired. In battle, the weapon was prone to jams, the magazines were prone to cracking, and the 5.56x45mm NATO round lacked stopping power. However, the INSAS received poor reviews from Indian and Nepali soldiers. The INSAS is chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO like the M4/M16 family and includes carbine and light machine gun variants. Since 1998, the standard-issue infantry rifle of the Indian Army has been the domestically produced Indian Small Arms System rifle.

Indian soldiers equipped with INSAS rifles (Indian Army)

Sauer model 1913 magazine