Govt to buy 425k modern ‘close-quarter battle’ carbines, raise 380 drone platoons ‘Ashni’
The government has signed a ₹2,770-crore deal for modern carbines, enhancing infantry capabilities with drones and Javelin weapons
The government has signed a ₹2,770-crore deal with two private firms to equip soldiers with 4.25 lakh modern close-quarter battle carbines, replacing the existing decades-old sub machine guns based on a 1940s design, director general infantry Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar said on Wednesday.
The army has completed the raising of 380 new specialist drone platoons called Ashni, it is on course to deploy 25 Bhairav light commando battalions over the next six months and the purchase of US-made Javelin anti-tank weapon is underway through the emergency procurement route, Kumar said at a media briefing ahead of Infantry Day or Shaurya Diwas on October 27, enumerating steps being taken to modernise the infantry.
“The infantry transformation and modernisation philosophy hinges on the current operational realities while simultaneously planning for the envisaged future battlefield requirement. It involves up-skilling, equipping and enhancing the capacity of a soldier to fight as a weapon system,” he said.
The new carbines will address a long-standing need, and the order comes after several failed attempts to buy the weapon. The contract has been awarded to Bharat Forge and Adani Group’s PLR Systems — the lowest and the second-lowest bidders — in the ratio of 60:40, Kumar said, adding the deliveries will begin in a year.
“The current carbines are a very old weapon system. What we are going in for is a remarkably improved weapon with superior metallurgy and rate of fire.”
The army is buying a raft of new systems for its Ashni drone platoons consisting of 20-25 soldiers in each of its 380 infantry battalions. “Trials of different types of drones are on. These platoons will be equipped drones that can be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and loitering munitions or kamikaze drones,” he said. The army is buying six types of loitering munitions and four types of drones for ISR role, HT has learnt.
Drones were used extensively in these roles during Operation Sindoor, the four-day military confrontation between India and Pakistan in early May following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
The Bhairav battalions, Kumar said, are designed to bridge the gap between conventional and modern infantry actions. “Each of these battalions consist of 250 elite soldiers equipped for swift and surprise attacks…bolstering the army’s special operations capability.” Five such battalions have already been deployed.
The Javelin purchase underway includes 12 launchers and 104 missiles, he said.
The involvement of infantry, Kumar said, in all possible spectrums of conflict has continued to increase, be it conventional or sub-conventional operations. “The modernisation of infantry covers areas including lethality, mobility, communication, battlefield transparency, situational awareness, survivability, training and restructuring.”
The infantry has undertaken multiple initiatives, institutional measures and technological transformations aligned with the Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiative to attain the desired capabilities, he added.
Infantry is transitioning from manpower-based to tech-driven formations, leveraging artificial intelligence, battlefield networks, precision-guided weapons and autonomous systems, officials aware of the matter said.
