The Ministry of Defence’s decision to procure an additional 73,000 SIG 716 rifles from US-based ammunition and pistol manufacturer SIG SAUER led to strong reaction from an Indian defence firm making a pitch for a “local contender” on X, even as Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu assured him that “his time” would come.
With the procurement, the Indian Army will have 145,000 SIG rifles in service, according to the company. Ron Cohen, President and CEO of SIG SAUER, said, “We are proud to be a partner in the modernization effort of the Indian Army, and prouder still that the SIG 716 rifle achieves the Ministry of Defence’s modernisation goals with the second largest army in the world.”
The Ministry of Defence had first awarded SIG SAUER a contract for SIG 716 in 2019 for 72,400 rifles.
JUST IN : , pic.twitter.com/xHEAhS4HRT— Alpha Defense™ (@alpha_defense) August 27, 2024
The company said the successful “fielding and overwhelming” acceptance by soldiers led to this follow-on award for additional rifles. “Throughout this time, we have strengthened and further solidified our partnership with the Indian Ministry of Defence and are honoured to earn their continued trust in equipping their frontline infantrymen,” it added.
The SIG 716 is an American-made automatic assault rifle with an enhanced AR platform chambered in 7.62 NATO featuring a 16-inch barrel, M-LOIC handguard, and a 6-position telescoping stock.
Vivek Krishnan, Entrepreneur, CEO of SSS Defence, a new age Defence company, Fund Manager and Blogger on global economics & finance, posted on X: “I wish the govt had not acquired more of these. A private solicitation and insistence on Indian design and content would’ve easily thrown up a contender or many in fact. Testing the same against the in service system would’ve been rather easy…Now that it’s done, what can we do right. Most others would disband. Not us @sssdefence . We made a decision a long while ago to be the most fearless dog in this business. We shall still have a weapon for each caliber and the user to us is still the man in uniform. We will be global…”
Been bombarded with messages since y’day seeking “my” opinion on the follow on acquisition of SIG 716i by the Indian army. Well, we knew this was coming. So, just went about our work. But some plainspeak is well worth it. 1. I wish the govt had not acquired more of these. A…— Vivek Krishnan (@Viv_Krishnan) August 28, 2024
Vembu reacted to the post: “Stay strong and stay the course. Your time will come.”
Stay strong and stay the course. Your time will come.— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) August 28, 2024
The user could never gather courage to accept the challenge (point 5) during the post 1948 decades. https://t.co/Gzqu4C4JBB What you have stated dear Vivek in your X, I hvbn emphasizing for long time and have stated in my book too (Pinned X) Wish you the best and strength to…
— Ravi Kumar Gupta (@rav26051) August 28, 2024
Ex-DRDO Scientist Ravi Kumar Gupta replied: “…I have been emphasising on this for a long time…”
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