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Indian Special Forces to be armed with American M-4 carbines

August 7, 2012 at 14:41

Sahil

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Indian defence officials claimed today that they have finalized a deal with the United States Defence Department for the purchase of the M-4 carbines, to be used by the Indian Special Forces Units.

Army officials said that the M-4s will be used by the Special Forces for counter-insurgency operations. The M-4 is the primary assault rifle of choice for the US servicemen serving with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Indian officials said that the M-4s will add as a supplementary weapon for the Special Forces, rather than replacing the Israeli rifles which are currently being used.

According to the Indian sources the main airborne regiment of the Indian Army, Parachute Regiment will be using the M-4s. Out of the 13 battalions composing the Regiment, 8 have been designated as Special Forces. These eight battalions will be armed with the American carbines.

The Parachute Regiment has taken part in almost all of the recent military engagements involving India, including major conflicts such as the Kargil War, and Operation Cactus. The Regiment has also taken part in the United Nations peacekeeping missions in nations such as Congo and Ethiopia, in addition to being part of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia is currently serving as the regimental commander.

Currently the Special Forces battalions within the Parachute Regiment are using the IMI Tavor TAR-21 guns as their primary assault rifle. Developed by the Israel Military Industries (IMI), the Tavor-21 is among the most popular assault rifles in the world currently. Two years ago, the Indian paramilitary unit Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had entered in to a contract with IMI for the supply of 12,000 Tavor-21s. In addition to the Tavors, the Indian Special Forces are also using Israeli designed weapons such as the Uzi and Mini-Uzi submachine guns.

Until the last decade, the Russian designed AK-47 light machine guns and the locally developed 1B1 INSAS were the primary weapons of choice for the Indian Army. However recently, the defence officials have diversified their inventory, by acquiring new guns such as Glock-26, AK-101, and M16 A2.

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