Rajnath Singh hands over new weapons system F-INSAS to Army

The full gear of the F-INSAS includes an AK-203 assault rifle, which is a Russian-origin gas-operated, magazine-fed, select-fire assault rifle. The units of the rifle, which has a range of 300 metres, will be manufactured by an India-Russia joint venture.

For the survivability of the infantry soldier, a ballistic helmet, ballistic goggles, bulletproof vest, elbow pads and knee pads have been provided in the system. The helmet and vest can protect from 9 mm ammunition and AK-47 assault rifles. F-INSAS also includes a state-of-the- art target acquisition and communication system.

A rifle-mounted holographic sight with a range of 200 meters has been provided for target acquisition. A helmet-mounted night vision facility has been provided for infantry. A hands-free headset has been provided for communication with command posts and other elements on the battlefield.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conceptualised the F-INSAS project in the early 2000s in line with the targets of the Army’s Infantry Soldier Modernisation Programme to optimise the soldier’s performance across the full spectrum and duration of a military operation.

DRDO scientists said similar infantry modernisation programmes from the US, France, Germany and Israel were studied for the development of F-INSAS. The quality requirements for the project were set by the Army. A senior Army officer said the aim of the F-INSAS is to equip the infantry soldier for the modern-day network-centric warfare scenario. Network-centric warfare is the effective use of information technology and computer networking tools to form networks of various force elements in play on the battlefield.

*Nipun anti-personnel mine handed over to Army*

During the unveiling ceremony Tuesday, the Defence Minister also handed over the Nipun anti-personnel mine to the Army. These mines have been developed in a joint effort by the private sector and the DRDO. As many as seven lakh such mines will be manufactured by private sector entities. During the same ceremony, a thermal imaging sight for T-90 tanks, hand-held thermal imager, frequency hopping radio relay, infantry protected mobility vehicles and quick reaction fighting vehicles were also handed over to the armed forces.