NEW DELHI: India is now fast-tracking some long-delayed modernisation of the Army's Special Forces to make them even more lethal and mobile for clandestine warfare.
Defence ministry sources said "restricted" tenders have been issued to select foreign arms companies for acquisition of new assault rifles, sniper rifles, general purpose machine guns, light-weight rocket-launchers, tactical shotguns, pistols, night-vision devices and ammunition.
"Seven tenders or RFPs (request for proposals) were issued last week to American, Israeli, Swedish and other companies for acquisition of the specialised weaponry on a fast-track basis, Times of India in a report said. Separately in a different capital acquisition project, trials are in progress to acquire over 120 light strike vehicles, which can be carried by helicopters, for the Special Forces," said a source.
This follows soon after India inked a flurry of emergency deals worth around Rs 20,000 crore for ammunition and spares for the Army, Navy and IAF to ensure they are ready to go to battle at short notice, and sustain the high-tempo operations for at least 10 days.
The Indian Special Forces already have specialised weaponry, ranging from Israeli 5.56mm TAR-21 Tavor assault rifles and 7.62mm Galil sniper rifles to American M4A1 carbines and Swedish Carl Gustav rocket launchers, as well as equipment.