INSAS

Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 15:32 Written by Administrator Thursday, 02 July 2009 16:34

INSAS is a family of rifles designed and manufactured in India by the Indian State Ordnance Factory Board, Ishapore. The INSAS assault rifle currently the standard issue rifle of the Indian Army.

Development on the INSAS began in the 1980s when it was felt that earlier FN FAL fielded by the Indian Army was inadequate the meet the requirements in the changing field of warfare. Thus development began on the new arms system. By the year 1997, the INSAS rifle was ready for mass production and the rifle was first presented to the public on the Republic Day Parade in 1998. Currently, 300,000 INSAS rifles are in use with the Indian Armed Forces.

The INSAS combines the design features of the AK-47, the Heckler & Koch G3 and the M16. It combines the AK-47s gas mechanism, the G3 rifle’s changing handle position and the M16’s burst modes and is often considered by many military experts as one of the best rifles currently in use.

The INSAS is chambered for the 5.56x45mm NATO and is accurate up to a distance of 450 meters. It can fire bullets at a round of 650 rounds per minute. The rifle can also be fitted with grenade launchers and bayonets for providing additional support in the field.

Though the INSAS is a top-notch weapon, the initial versions had some operational glitches. It has reliability problems in extremely cold conditions and often jams. In addition, the polymer parts of the rifle are also prone to cracking in cold weathers. Sometimes, it was also observed that the rifle would fire in fully-automatic mode when in three-round mode. However, the recent versions seem to have fixed these problems.

The INSAS rifle has been exported to Nepal in significant numbers. Though proper details are not available, some sources claim that around 100,000 units have been exported to Nepal in view of the recent Maoist insurgency.

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