The Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) unveiled an indigenous rifle named Ugram (ferocious) developed in less then a time period of 100 days. The rifle has been developed by the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), a unit of DRDO and Hyderabad based defence firm, Dvipa Armour India Private Limited.
Features of the Assault Rifle
The rifle will deploy rounds of 7.62 mm calibre, making it more ferocious than the rifles that use 5.62 mm calibre rounds like the INSAS (Indian National Small Arms System) assault rifle, which is very popular with the Indian Armed Forces and the para military forces. The rifle has been developed in less than 100 days and will now undergo trials to test its operational capability in conditions such as harsh winter, extreme heat and underwater, a media agency reported
The Ugram rifle has been developed keeping in mind the operational requirements of military, paramilitary and police forces, an Indian media agency reported. The rifle has 20 rounds and fires in single shot as well as automatic mode. The rifle will have an effective range of 500 meters or approximately five football fields and has a total weight four kilograms.
About GSQR
The rifle has been developed as per the General Staff Qualitative Requirements (GSQR) of the army into consideration. The GSQR is one of the initial processes in capital procurement. It outlines why the equipment is required, it physical and operational details as well as the maintainability and quality requirements.
About DCPP
“This was a mission mode project taken up two years ago. After the ARDE designed the rifle, we started to look for a private defence firm (private industry partner) for development and manufacturing,” the ARDE Director Ankathi Raju told a media agency. “We have followed the concept of Development Cum Production Partner (DCPP) for the speedy progress of the project.
Under this, the vendor is associated with us during production and manufacturing too. After the project is made by the vendor, it will undergo acceptance trials. We have placed the order for the assault rifles to the Hyderabad based Dvipa Armour and it will soon go for trials,” he said. “While the process of design and design related analysis started two years ago, the development in collaboration with the private vendor was completed in 100 days, Ankathi Raju told an international media agency.
Fast Track Requirements
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in December approved the procurement of an additional 70,0000 SIG Sauer SIG716 rifle. The first batch of 72,400 SIG716 Rifles worth USD 90 million in 2020 using the Fast Track Procurement. The Fast Track Requirements aims to replace the ageing INSAS Rifle that is still in service and made its battle debut in the Kargil War of 1999.
AK-203 Project
India has partnered with the Russian Federation to develop the AK-203 assault rifle which deploys the 7.62 mm calibre rounds. The Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) is a joint venture company established for the indigenous manufacture of the assault rifles. They are currently in manufacturing and testing stage at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh. It has a range of 300 meters.
“The AK-203 project has not taken off because of the Russia-Ukraine War and the PLR is supplying weapons to the Israel Weapons Industries because of the Israel-Hamas Conflict. So, this window of opportunity has come up. Three months ago, the in October 2023, we received the order and we have provided five prototypes. We believe this is the fastest developments of weapons anywhere in the world,” the Director of the Dvipa Armour India, G Ram Chaitanya Reddy said.
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