Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh)

Adani Defence and Aerospace, in a joint venture with Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), delivered the first batch of 2,000 Prahar Light Machine Guns to the Indian Armed Forces on Saturday. The batch is part of the order for 41,000 LMGs by the Indian defence forces.

Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition) in the Department of Defence, A Anbarasu, hailed the private defence firms, noting that the delivery has saved 20 months for the Indian armed forces.

"Today, we have flagged off the dispatch of 2000 LMG Prahar guns by saving 600 days and dispatching them well ahead of schedule. The scale and speed are very critical for improving the Indian defence industry ecosystem, and I'm optimistic that in the coming days, the private industries and public sector industries, all defence industries, will rise to the occasion and meet their potential. From the policymaking side, the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) is in the process of being amended, and we are working on it. We will ensure that the new Defence Acquisition Procedure meets the aspirations of the industry and helps in adding to the Indian defence ecosystem..."

This delivery, under the Make in India program, is an important step in strengthening indigenous defence manufacturing and supporting the operational needs of the Indian Armed Forces.

Ashish Rajvanshi, the CEO of Adani Defence and Aerospace, said that the focus was not about supplying a product, but building manufacturing capability in India across the portfolio of small arms.

Ashish Rajvanshi, President and CEO of Adani Aerospace and Defence, says, "It has taken us 6 years to reach this point. The journey, which started in 2020 with the vision and the dream of 'Aatmanirbharta', we were not sure where we were going to land. With the perseverance and hard work of the team, and the support of the policymakers over the last five years, we can proudly say that we have moved from a component manufacturer to a full gun OEM. The whole focus was not about supplying a product or a gun, but to build a deep capability in India across the whole portfolio of small arms. What started as a light machine gun contract was actually establishing a full capability across light machine gun assault rifles, pistols, snipers, and carbines within the country."

He added that Adani Defence and Aerospace can manufacture one lakh guns annually.

Rajvanshi said, "Today, proudly, we can say we can manufacture 100,000 guns per year. This is something which is completely driven by the most reliable, accurate, highly driven quality management systems, which will ensure that there is no defect and no rejection beyond 0.5 to 0.4 per cent. This is done under Industry 4.0 digitisation. What the policymakers have witnessed today is the future of Indian defence, and factory after factory, what you're going to do from Adani Defence is something which is going to drive the future of India's dreams when it comes to becoming a global power, not only for the captive demand, but for the global exports."

Shuki Schwartz, CEO of IWI, stated that the Prahar LMGs will upgrade the capabilities of the Indian armed forces. In the wake of tensions in West Asia, involving Israel, he assured that the firm has the capabilities to meet India's defence needs.

He said, "The NEGEV LMG is significant for the infantry, upgrading their capabilities. We believe it will support the Indian troops very much, as it did in the last supply of 16,000 LMGs, which took place in 2020. Now that it is produced in India, it is a very big pride for the Indian nation, and it supports the self-resilience of the Indian Army and the Indian Defence Forces."

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"Regarding the capability of supply within the activities in West Asia, there is no fear regarding it. First, we have a very significant facility in Israel that is supporting the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) and can support the Indian needs, too. Second, we are making PLR (Precision, Lethality, and Reliability, the Adani-IWI joint venture) an independent company that can serve its needs and will support the Indian needs in any circumstances with no problem," Shuki Schwartz said.

The Prahar (Known is Israel as Negev NG7) operates from an open bolt and is fitted with a rotating bolt with gas impact on the piston head. It has a 508 mm long barrel (20 inch) and is 1,000 mm long, which allows a paratrooper to jump with it, the length being reduced to 820 mm with the stock folded. The NG7 weighs 7.6 kg without a magazine, its competitors weighing respectively 22 per cent and 38 per cent more.