Ten Most Popular Guns Used By Indian Army

Hello Aspirants,

As we all know that Indian Army is ranked as the fourth strongest army in the world. Being one of the strongest, it uses a vast range of weapons to safeguard, also capable of attacking others, the nation from enemy’s attacks. Of the vast range of weapons, there are some guns which have been in service for a long time and are the witness bravery of Indian solider. Many of them have now become the Backbone of Indian army.

Let's have a look on them:

1. Pistol Auto 9mm 1A

Pistol Auto 9mm 1A is the standard side-arm of the Indian Armed Forces. The pistol is manufactured by Rifle Factory Ishapore. It is a recoil-operated, magazine-fed, self-loading, and semi-automatic pistol that uses 9×19mm Parabellum ammunition.The magazine has a 13-round capacity. It is widely used by Indian Army, CRPF, and the State Police Forces.

2. INSAS Assault Rifle

INSAS (Indian New Small Arms System) assault rifle is the standard infantry weapon of Indian Armed Forces. The rifle comes with a 5.56×45 mm NATO cartridge and is developed at Ordnance Factory, Tiruchirappalli. It was first used in combat during Kargil War in 1999. It has faced a lot of criticism for issues like jamming and the rifle going into the automatic mode by itself. The issues had been resolved in the newer versions but it is finally going to be retired and replaced by a modern generation assault rifle which uses 7.62x51mm NATO cartridges. This assault rifle is also being used by Nepal, Bhutan, and Oman armies.

3. AKM Assault Rifle

This Soviet originated assault rifle is the advanced and improved version of the AK-47 rifle. It has a firing rate of 600 rounds per minute and comes in both semi-automatic and fully automatic modes. AK series of guns are known to be the most widely used assault rifles across the globe. It is used by the army including PARA SF, Garud, Ghatak, BSF, and NSG.

4. AK-103 Assault Rifle

The Ak-103 assault rifle is a derivative of the AK-74 M chambered for the 7.62×39 mm cartridge, similar to the older AKM. The AK-103 can be fitted with a variety of sights, including night vision and telescopic sights, plus a knife-bayonet or a grenade launcher. It is used by the Indian Police, Army, Paramilitary Forces, and Special Forces such as MARCOS.

5. Vidhwansak Anti-material Rifle

Vidhwansak (meaning destroyer) is an indigenously developed anti-material rifle (AMR) which is manufactured at Ordnance Factory, Tiruchirappalli. The rifle is magazine-fed and reloaded through manual bolt action. It has an effective range of 1800 m. It can be used in the anti-material role for destroying enemy bunkers, lightly armored vehicles, radar systems, communication equipment, parked aircraft, fuel storage facilities, etc. 

6. Dragunov SVD 59 Sniper Rifle

Dragunov SVD 59 is a standard sniper rifle of the Indian Army used by the Designated Marksman. The effective range of the rifle is 800-900 m. This Soviet originated rifle was first used during the period of cold war. The rifle is chambered for 7.62×54 mm cartridge and has a 10-round detachable box magazine. It is going to be replaced under the army modernization plan

7. IMI Galil 7.62 Sniper Rifle

The Galil is a family of Israeli small arms produced by Israel Military Industries (IMI). The gun is chambered for  7.62×51 mm NATO cartridge and has a 20-round detachable box magazine.The gun is being used by more than 25 countries and by the special forces of the Indian Army.It comes under the category of tactical support rifle competing with Russian SVD or German G3-SG1.

8. Mauser SP66 Sniper Rifle

The Mauser SP66 is a German origin standard bolt-action sniper rifle. SP66 is based on the civilian Model 66 Super Match, which was basically a hunting rifle. The effective range of the rifle is around 800 m. It fires the 7.62x51mm NATO round from an internal 3 round magazine. It is used by the special forces of the Indian Army.

9. SAF Carbine 2A1 Sub Machine Gun

This gun is the silenced version of Sub Machine Gun 1A1, which means it is fitted with a silencer unit at the front of the barrel. It is manufactured by Ordnance Factory at Kanpur. The rate of fire is 150 rounds per minute.It is a light-weight weapon and is capable of automatic firing.It is mostly used in special purpose missions of the special forces to counter terrorist attacks. SAF Carbine 2A1 is used by Indian Army and Indian Navy’s Marine commandos or MARCOS.

10. NSV Heavy Machine Gun

This Soviet-designed machine gun is manufactured at Ordnance Factory, Tiruchirapalli, of the Ordnance Factories Board. It is used as an anti-aircraft gun against helicopters, UAVs, and aircraft. Its range extends to 1500 meters against airborne targets and up to 2000 m against targets on the ground. The high rate of fire (700-800 rounds per minute) and light weight are the key characteristics of this gun.The gun with its large 12.7×108 mm cartridge can be mounted on tanks to target and destroy the enemy.

Weapons are important part of our Army but the most important thing is the bravery and sacrifices of our soldiers

So that was all about popular guns in indian Army.

Stay tuned to DDE for more updates.

JAI HIND

Submitted by: Aayush Bhatt