NEW DELHI: The Indian Army’s search for the close-quarter battle weapon has culminated with the emergence of DRDO and Bharat Forge, an indigenous Private manufacturer, as the Lowest (L1) among the bidders for the project.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Monday said on X, “Significantly boosting #atmanirbharta in critical technology, 5.56×45 mm CQB Carbine, designed and developed by Armament Research and Development Establishment(ARDE), DRDO selected as L1 in Indian Army Request for Proposal (RFP)”.
As per the Acceptance of Necessity note issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2022 there is a requirement of 4,25,213 units of 5.56 x 45mm CQB Carbine. It is to be procured under the category ‘Buy (Indian)’.
‘Buy (Indian)’ category refers to the procurement of products from an Indian vendor meeting one of the two conditions: products that have been indigenously designed, developed and manufactured with a minimum of 50% Indigenous Content (IC) on cost basis of the total contract value; Or products, which may not have been designed and developed indigenously, having 60% IC on cost basis of the total contract value.
Coming to the weapon, its Effective Range should “Not be less than 200 meters.” And it should have a bayonet of minimum blade length 120mm be provided with a suitable cover. The weight of the CQB carbine without magazine & accessories should not exceed 3 Kgs + 10%.
The CQB Carbines are meant for urban, close range contacts and counter terrorism operations. Thus these weapons are modified to be lighter, easy to handle and smaller than a standard rifle thus bearing effectiveness and maneuverability.