The Indian Army reissued a request for information (RFI) on 23 September 2022 to identify candidates for close quarter combat (CQB) carbines procured from India’s domestic industry.
The purchase program can be seen as a reboot of the 2010 and 2018 efforts, which also sought to replace the current Sterling 1A1/2 9mm Carbine, which had been in use since 1945. The previous two plans, including the three-year evaluation period during the former, were cancelled. Later, UAE Caracal International CAR816 and Thales Australia F60 were shortlisted but also eliminated.
The new RFI requires the use of a 5.56x45mm caliber weapon with a weight of no more than 3kg (without magazine) and a length of no more than 800mm. It will have a Picatinny attachment rail and use a 30-round magazine. The carbine is mainly used against targets up to 200 meters away, and its accuracy can place 90% of the shots in 100-meter groups of 150 X 150 mm. Fire 2 to round bursts of 60% of the impact will be in the 240 X 240mm group. Additionally, the weapon must operate at minus 10 to plus 45 degrees Celsius.
Deadline for RFI responses is October 21 with request for proposals
(RfP) is expected to be available to selected suppliers in November 2022. The RFI has put forward a potential demand for 425,213 weapons, although the last tender requested 93,895. The selected industry must be able to supply production weapons within eight months of award. Even with the selection from the RfP under the 2020 defense procurement process, the process of obtaining a production linkage contract can take 24-36 months. In this case, the new CQB carbine may enter service in 2027.
Potential prospective candidates could include Caracal CAR816, Kalyani Gp with Thales’ EF88 Austeyer, PLR with Galil ACE, OFB with its own design, SSS Defense’s M72, Jindal Group for Brazil’s Taurus and Neco Desert Tech for India/US industrial joint venture . It is also possible to show more designs if the offeror commits to a manufacturing base in India. Regardless, Army end users are eager to see the CQB carbine move forward.
Stephen W. Miller
