Second year in a row, India's home-made assault rifles fail basic test

India's home-made assault rifles have failed basic trials, thus being rejected by the Indian Army, media reports said Thursday.

The 7.62 x51 mm indigenous assault rifles, which were made by state-owned Ordnance Factory Board and meant to replace AK-47s used by Indian armed forces, have many faults, including excessive recoil and excessive flash and sound signature, unnamed Army sources were quoted as saying.

"The weapon in its present form leaves much to be desired, is unsatisfactory and requires comprehensive design analysis," an Indian Army's internal assessment says, after a user trial was conducted at the Rifle Factory in the eastern state of West Bengal's Icchapore on June 13 and 14.

Apart from the AK-47s, Indian soldiers use INSAS, which are made in India. They were inducted in the Indian Army in 1988.

The Indian Army last year turned down an indigenous rifle called the Excalibur as the 5.56 mm weapon does not meet the firepower requirements of the forces and was not considered as a possible replacement for the in-service 5.56 mm INSAS rifle.

The failure of both the rifles in basic tests have dented Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" mantra for enhancing the country's military firepower.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)