Mikhail Kalashnikov had set the bar so high in 1947 that it’s difficult if not impossible for modern small-arms designers to achieve an evolutionary leap over the AK-47 assault rifle. If Russia has allowed India to licence produce submarines and Sukhois, then there should be no obstacle in the way of licence producing a rifle.
The Indian Army has decided to end its experiment with the
glitch prone Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) 5.56 mm rifle and go for a brand
new 7.62 mm calibre weapon. As part of its
massive modernisation drive that will re-quip entire divisions with
high-end weapons and over a million troops with advanced personal arms, the
army says unlike previous failed attempts, this time it’s aiming in the right
direction.
The
Indian small arms project has suffered too many misfires because the generals
wanted the equivalent of the Star Wars Blaster. Had
the army kept its general staff qualitative requirements (GSQRs) at a realistic
level, Indian soldiers wouldn’t be saddled with a malfunctioning
rifle. According to Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, “The
Indian Army's dream personal weapon of twin calibre capability with changeable
barrels to cater for different calibres has resulted in the acute delay in the
final decision. There appears to be no takers for this variety which the
General Staff had desired.”
Clearly,
reinventing the rifle is a futile exercise. Mikhail Kalashnikov had set the bar
so high in 1947 that it’s difficult if not impossible for modern small-arms
designers to achieve an evolutionary leap over the AK-47 assault rifle. The
larger 7.62 mm calibre that the Indian Army is now seeking is incidentally the
same as the AK, buttressing the Russian weapon’s reputation as the most
reliable – and copied – weapon in modern history.
In fact, until the
1980s, Indian soldiers were more or less happy with the locally made 7.62 mm
Self Loading Rifle. The situation cratered when the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) instead of improving a tolerably good
rifle, offered to design a new one. The army's impossible demands combined with
the DRDO's over-reach proved fatal to the success of
the INSAS project.
Military historian
Timothy D. Hoyt explains in
Military Industry and Regional Defense Policy - India, Iraq and Israel:
"In the early 1980s, DRDO made a commitment to develop a new
series of 5.56 mm small arms for the Indian armed forces called the INSAS.
Both Heckler & Koch of Germany and Steyr of Austria offered to
provide for India's immediate needs and transfer technology worth $4.5 million
for free. These offers were declined and DRDO spent the next decade,
and approximately Rs 2 billion (about $100 million in 1990), reinventing a
family of small arms based heavily on Steyr and H&K technology.
In the meantime, India imported AK-47 rifles from former Warsaw Pact nations to
fill requirements. The INSAS finally entered service in the late
1990s.”
How not to make a rifle
Although
the INSAS was more accurate than an AK-47, it flopped because of
reliability issues. Indian soldiers hated it. In particular, it repeatedly
jammed during the Kargil War, leading to emergency imports of tens of
thousands of AK-47. The chief reason that Indian Ordnance Board (IOB) factories
– which make INSAS rifles – churn out shoddy weapons is that they are
not run by weapons professionals but bureaucrats of the Indian Administrative
Service. Soldiers and officers with battlefield experience, especially in the
area of urban warfare, are not involved in weapons design nor is their opinion
sought.
The INSAS rifles
designed by the IOB lack finish and look amateurish, clearly not
meant for one of the largest fighting forces in the world. According to the website, Indians For
Guns, the designers have tried to copy the AK-47 and AK-74, with parts
scaled down from the larger Russian rifles. There’s plastic everywhere,
including the magazine, causing it to crack or jam when used in extreme cold
conditions. “The crude scratching that passed off as lettering was too shallow
and the lazy (workers) at the factory simply squished some white enamel over
the general areas and didn't even bother to wipe off the excess.”
To be sure, there is
no lack of ingenuity in the defence forces. As the army wades through its
procurement bureaucracy, a soldier has modified the INSASrifle, reducing
its overall length and weight, allowing corner shot capability. "The
modified weapon is more stable while firing, compact, easy to carry and
has better accuracy," a source told NDTV.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi was so impressed that he gave the soldier
– whose identity remains secret – an "innovation certificate". It's
sad that innovators like this soldier remain unsung and are unlikely to be
absorbed into the defence industry. India must acknowledge the value of soldier
technocrats. Kalashnikov, for instance, designed the AK-47 based on his
knowledge of the shortcomings of the Russian rifle versus the German
standard issue small-arms of World War II.
Licensed production
Having
a Made in India assault rifle would be brilliant, but in the past four decades
India hasn’t demonstrated such capability. Until the Defence Ministry infuses
some professionalism into the IOB, it shouldn’t try and reverse engineer
the world’s simplest rifle. On the other hand, India has successfully licence
produced weapons since the 1960s. These include high-performance aircraft such
as the MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27, MiG-29, Jaguar and Sukhoi Su-30MKI, as
well as Russian tanks, field guns, anti-aircraft weapons, armoured personal
carriers and destroyers.
According
to Hoyt, "Licensed production adequately responds to most military needs,
provides leverage against supply blackmail by external powers, and demonstrates
Indian military and industrial capabilities. Only a few countries are capable of
manufacturing supersonic aircraft or large surface warships, or sophisticated
diesel attack submarines. Indian industrial capability therefore reflects
India's self-image as a growing power and a great nation."
Till
such time India is able to develop a world class rifle, the Defence Ministry
needs to steer the army in the direction of licence production.
Russian small-arms developments
Considering
the size of Indian security apparatus - a million army soldiers plus hundreds
of thousands of paramilitary troops - there won't be shortage of foreign
partners. If Russia has allowed India to licence produce submarines
and Sukhois, then there should be no obstacle in the way of licence
producing a rifle. Moscow also seems to have the edge - in technology - over
western manufacturers. It has redesigned its entire family of small arms based
on information and lessons gained from low-intensity counter-insurgency – such
as in Chechnya. Much of the design and development has involved extensive
coordination between elements of the Russian military.
Unlike
India, Russian (and western) weapons manufacturers employ the ladder approach –
incremental improvements in successive generation of weapons. For instance, the
standard Russian Army small arm is the AK-74 - a lighter and improved version
of the AK-47. Since the mid-1970s the Russians have made further modifications
to the gas block and barrel, resulting in the AK-15, an even more reliable gun
than the AK-74.
In
a declassified
CIA report, the agency compares a range of small arms used by
Russian, American, British, French and West German armies and concludes that
Russian weapons are clearly "superior to their counterpart NATO
weapons". While western weapons performed poorly in delivering automatic
fire, the Russian designs packed functionality and reliability in a light
package.
The
report, published in the CIA’s Military Thought journal, is a must read for the
Indian Army brass which is about to take a decision on the 7.62 mm calibre
rifle. “This cartridge will kill a soldier at ranges of up to 1500 metres and
with full reliability penetrate a helmet or armoured vest at ranges of from 600
and 900 metres," says the US report.
Life after Excalibur: Growing calibre
The
Excalibur was supposed to be the IOB’s silver bullet that would erase the
memory of the failed INSAS. It had a number of improvements, including two
settings, single shot or automatic, thus ditching the INSAS' three-round burst,
which caused it to jam during battle. It also had reduced recoil. And yet it
was junked, demonstrating that India's defence planners aren't adopting the
ladder approach.
Perhaps
the only good thing about the demise of the INSAS is that its
comparatively smaller 5.56 mm calibre round may have been a liability in modern
warfare.
The
Indian Army had long subscribed to the western military wisdom that the 5.56 mm
rifle is better suited for war because it generally injures an enemy soldier,
thereby tying down two of his mates who would carry him to safety. On the other
hand, the 7.62mm bullet usually causes death, thereby eliminating only one
soldier from the battlefield.
The
current thinking makes a 180-degree turn. Firstly, soldiers don’t pick up a
fallen comrade during a charge. For, that would not only slow down the charge
but also expose the rescuers to hostile fire. No army in the world teaches such
tactics to its soldiers and it is therefore surprising that such ‘wisdom’
prevailed for so long.
Secondly,
the 7.62 mm rifle is ideal in counter-insurgency warfare because it is better
to take out terrorists before they come close for suicide bombing. Also,
terrorists don’t stop to rescue a fallen terrorist.
The
Indian Army’s decision to switch to a higher calibre rifle shows that the brass
may have woken up to the realities of the modern battlefield. As Lt
Gen Hasnain says, “Let us hope that with renewed interest in a new
family of weapons and slippages now causing virtual panic, the senior hierarchy
will finally come to a decision on a subject which should be considered as
important as the acquisition of aircraft, tanks and guns.”
Rakesh Krishnan Simha is a New Zealand-based journalist and foreign affairs analyst.
Source :- Russia & India Report
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