Late last month the Government of India, Ministry of Defence entered into a contract with SIG Sauer to purchase 73,000 SIG Sauer SIG716 rifles. The order is in addition to the 72,400 the nation bought in 2019. Those guns have already been issued to its Army (66,400), Air Force (4,000) and Navy (2,000). When the recent agreement is completed, it will bring the nation’s total SIG716 inventory up to 145,400.
“We are proud to be a partner in the modernization effort of the Indian army, and prouder still that the SIG716 rifle achieves the Ministry of Defence’s modernization goals with the second-largest army in the world,” said Ron Cohen, president and CEO, SIG Sauer. “Since the initial fielding of the SIG716, we have received phenomenal end-user feedback on the performance and reliability of the platform. Throughout this time, we have strengthened and further solidified our partnership with the Indian Ministry of Defence and are honored to earn their continued trust equipping their frontline infantrymen.”
The SIG716 is an enhanced AR platform chambered in 7.62 NATO featuring a 16-inch barrel, M-Lok handguard, and a 6-position telescoping stock. SIG Sauer designs and builds the SIG716 rifles for the Indian army and for all its customers in the United States.
India’s military is the second largest in the world with roughly 1.5 million members on active duty, well below China’s two million. India, however, claims top honors when militias and paramilitary volunteers are included in the inventory—coming in at more than 5.1 million.
Supplying those troops with a domestically produced rifle was assigned a manufacturing priority several years ago. In January of this year a made-in-India military firearm was unveiled wearing the nickname the “Ugram”—or “Fierce One.” It’s also chambered in 7.62 NATO and is currently undergoing testing.
