New Delhi: Terrorists trying to cross the Indian border during day or the dark night will soon have a new nemesis. With the Indian Army having already upgraded its sniper course at the Infantry School at Mhow, new procurement of sniper rifles, and now night sights for sniper rifles, the border grid will have a force multiplier.
Underlining that the military establishment will spare no effort in equipping and modernizing the equipment of its troops at the frontlines, the Defence Ministry on Friday issued a request for proposal (RFP) for 1,121 thermal imaging night sights.
The gun sights will be mounted on the ‘piccatiny rails’ of the Sako .338 TRG-42, Beretta .338 calibre Lapua Magnum Scorpio TGT sniper rifles that are in deployment with frontline troops on the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan and the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
The last major order for Thermal Imaging Night Sights (TINS) for the Indian Army’s small arms was in November 2019 when the Union Cabinet okayed the buying of 21,500 TINS that can be fitted on most small arms. But the night gun sight for sniper rifles is more specialized and higher sophistication.
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While the most numerous sniper rifles with the Indian Army is the Russian-made 7.62mm Dragunov sniper gun, the Sako .338 TRG-42, Beretta .338 Lapua Magnums were acquired under an emergency procurement along with the US-made Barrett M95. While the idea is to replace the aging Dragunov with the .338 calibre guns and the Barrett M95, even now, the Indian Army has a shortfall of about 5,700 sniper rifles.
The night sights sought should be able to pick up a single walking human at a minimum range of 1,200 metres and a single standing human at a minimum range of 800 metres. To be used by soldiers both in troops during training and in operations, the gun sights should “facilitate acquisition and accurate engagement of targets during hours of darkness and poor visibility conditions.”
While the gun sight along with batteries and 'piccatiny mount' adaptor should not be more than 1,100 gm, it should be ‘non reflective black’ in colour, the RFP specified. To be delivered at the Central Ordnance Depot at Agra, the acquisition will be procured under the Buy (Indian – IDDM) Category and will include accessories and will have a minimum indigenous content of 50%.
