Armed Forces Modernisation: Special Forces In Army, Navy And Air Force To Get Weapons Upgrade

Finnish Sako sniper rifles, Swedish Carl Gustaf Mark-4 light weight rocket launchers, Italian Beretta pistols with silencers among other weapons are expected to be inducted into Army's Para Special Forces (SF) battalions, Times of India has reported. Contracts for the same have been inked as per the TOI sources.

The army currently has nine battalions of para special forces and five air borne battalions, each having a strength of 620 soldiers. Another battalion is expected to be raised in near future.

Special forces of the Navy known as marine commandos (Marcos) are slated to get a two "midget submarines" or "chariots" under a Rs 2017 crore project. Suppressed sniper rifles, air-droppable rubberised inflated boats, hands free power ascenders and remotely operated underwater boats are other advanced equipment expected to be inducted into the navy special forces.

The Indian Air Force's (IAF) Garud commandos are expected to induct new sniper rifles, thermal sights, breaching ammunition and other equipment. Currently, the IAF has 15 Garud flights, and has a plan to induct 12 more flights. A flight is roughly an equivalent of a company in an infantry battalion. In addition to this, the IAF has already inducted 65 micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) as per the report.