INSAS is a family of infantry arms consisting of an assault rifle and a light machine gun.
It is manufactured by the Ordnance Factories Board at Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli,
Small Arms Factory Kanpur and Ichapore Arsenal.
The INSAS assault rifle is the standard infantry weapon of the Indian Armed Forces.
History Since the.
late 1950s, the Indian armed forces had been equipped with L1A1 self-loading rifles.
In mid-1980s, the decision was taken to develop a 5.56 mm calibre rifle to replace the obsolete
rifles.
Trials on various prototypes based on the AKM were carried out by the Armament Research
and Development Establishment in Pune.
On the completion of the trial, The Indian Small Arms System was adopted in 1990.
However, to phase out the still in use bolt-action Lee Enfield rifles as quickly as possible,
India had to acquire 100,000 7.62×39mm AKM-type rifles from Russia, Hungary, Romania and Israel
in 1990–92.
Originally, three variants were planned in the INSAS system, a rifle, a carbine and a
squad automatic weapon or Light machine gun.
In 1997, the rifle and the LMG went into mass production.
In 1998, the first INSAS rifles were displayed at the republic day parade.
The introduction of the rifle was delayed due to the lack of 5.56x45mm ammunition, large
quantities of the same were bought from Israel Military Industries.
The rifle first saw action during the Kargil War in 1999.
About, 300,000 units are in currently use by the Indian armed forces.
Design
The INSAS is primarily based on the AKM but incorporates features from other rifles.
It has a chrome-plated bore.
The barrel has a six-groove rifling.
The basic gas operated long stroke piston and the rotating bolt are similar to the AKM/AK-47.
It has a manual gas regulator, similar to that of FN FAL, and a gas cutoff for launching
grenades.
The charging handle is on the left instead of on the bolt carrier, similar in operation
to the HK33.
There is a change lever on the left side of the receiver above the pistol grip.
It can fire a three-round burst or in semi-automatic mode.
The cyclic rate averages at 650 rpm.
The transparent plastic magazine was adapted from the Steyr AUG.
The rear sight lies on one end of the breech cover and is calibrated to 400 meters.
The furniture is either made for wood or polymer.
The polymer butt and forend assemblies differ from the AKM and are more similar to that
of IMI Galil.
Some variants have a folding butt.
A bayonet can also be attached to it.
The guns take 20 or 30 round polymer magazines.
The 30 round magazine is made for the LMG version, but can be also used in the rifle.
The flash suppressor also accepts NATO-specification rifle grenades.
Issues During, the 1999 Kargil War the rifles were
used in the high-attitudes of the Himalayas.
There were complaints of jamming, the magazine cracking due to the cold and the rifle going
into automatic mode when it was set for three-round bursts.
There was also a problem of oil being sprayed into the eye of the operator.
Some injuries during firing practice were also reported.
Similar complaints were also received from the Nepalese Army.
In August 2005, after 43 soldiers were killed in a clash with Maoists, a Nepalese Army spokesman
called the rifle substandard and their counter-insurgency operation would have been more efficient with
better weapons.
The Indian embassy released a statement that rejected the claim and attributed it to improper
usage, it also offered training for the rifle's correct usage.
0n 8 August 2011, Pallam Raju, then Minister of State for Defence, replying to a question
in the Lok Sabha said that all these problems had been rectified.
Variants
INSAS Standard Rifle It is a gas operated assault rifle.
It can be fired in single round or three-round burst mode.
A telescopic sight or a passive night sight can be mounted on it.
It can take NATO standard 5.56 × 45 mm SS109 and M193 ammunition.
It comes with a bayonet.
It has a mount point for the ARDE 40 mm Under Barrel Grenade Launcher, along with a gas-block
for launching grenades and grenade iron-sights.
The flash suppressor has a blank-firing adaptor.
It also has a foldable butt version.
Kalantak and Excalibur Both are lighter versions of the INSAS, designed
for close quarter combat.
They both have foldable butts and picatinny rails to mount standard sights or opto-electronic
instruments.
LMG This has a rotating bolt locking system.
It can fire in semi-auto or full-automatic mode.
It also has a foldable-butt version.
Replacements In November 2011, the Indian Army sent a request
for proposal to 34 vendors for 65,678 multi-calibre rifles for about ₹2,500 crore.
The tender also included a license to manufacture about 100,000 more rifles in India, with a
total expenditure of the phasing out estimated at ₹5,500 crore.
Similar, tenders for a carbine and a LMG were also issued.
The specification of the weapon is of a modular rifle, with ability to fire both 5.56 mm and
7.62 mm, by changing the magazines and the barrels.
The 5.56 mm are to be used in close quarters combat and 7.62 mm in conventional warfare.
The rifle should have mount points for under-barrel grenade launchers and reflex sights.
The rifle's weight with an empty magazine should be less than 3.6 kg.
The barrels for both calibres should be less than 16 inches.
In the winter of 2013 in Leh, the Army was expected to begin the winter trials of the
short-listed rifles: Beretta ARX 160 from Italy, CZ-805 BREN from Czech Republic, ACE
1 of Israel Weapon Industries, SIG Sauer SG 551 from Switzerland and the Colt Combat Rifle
from the USA, a variant of the M16A1 made for the Indian army's requirements.
The rifles were to undergo summer trials in Pokran in 2014.
In February 2014, during the Defense Expo in New Delhi, it was reported that the rifles
would undergo trials in May.
They would be tested in diverse climatic conditions, where the rifle would be likely to employed,
for several months.
These would include western Rajasthan desert, high-altitude locations in the Himalayas,
and high humidity areas.
The four rifles remaining in the competition were the CZ-805, ARX-160, Galil ACE, and Colt
Combat Rifle.
The Indian Army began the final round of trials for its requirement for 5.56 mm carbines in
June 2014.
The remaining rifles are the Beretta ARX-160, Colt M4, and IWI Galil ACE, and they will
continue trials until the end of July.
They will also undergo a mud test to see how they operate in poor conditions, which all
three failed in the Rajasthan desert and high-altitude regions in 2012.
By October 2014, only the Galil ACE and ARX-160 were left in the competition.
Meanwhile, an AK-47 based rifle, called the Trichy Assault Rifle, is being tested by the
Ordnance Factory Trichy.
It was first unveiled in May 2011.
In January 2012, it was reported to be having stoppages during tests due to its high 800
rpm firing rate.
It was to be downgraded to 650 rpm to ensure smoother operation, but it also delayed its
introduction.
In December 2012, the Defence Research and Development Organisation announced that it
was testing a multi-calibre rifle.
The prototype rifle named Multi Caliber Individual Weapon System was unveiled in 2014 by Armament
Research and Development Establishment.
Users India: The assault rifle and LMG variants
have been adopted by the Indian Armed Forces, Indian Paramilitary Forces and some police
forces.
Nepal: The Nepalese Army had about 25,000 rifles in 2006, supplied at a 70% subsidy
by India.
Oman: In 2010, the Royal Army of Oman started using the INSAS rifles sent to them as per
a defence agreement signed in 2003 between India and Oman.
Bhutan: Used in small numbers by the Royal Bhutan Army.
See also Modern Sub Machine Carbine
Multi Caliber Individual Weapon System References
External links Ordnance Factory Board