Multi Calibre Individual Weapon System (MCIWS) is an assault rifle developed in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

by the

Armament Research and Development Establishment The Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Located in Pune, it is the main DRDO lab involved in the development of conventional armaments. History A ...

, a laboratory of the

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India ...

. It was first seen at the DEFEXPO 2014 exhibition. As of 2015, the rifle is also known as the Advanced Automatic Rifle (AAR) and also as the F-INSAS rifle.

History

The

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

chose an indigenous assault rifle to replace the

INSAS rifle INSAS or Indian Small Arms System is a family of infantry arms consisting of an assault rifle and a light machine gun (LMG). It was designed by the Armament Research and Development Establishment and manufactured by the Ordnance Factories Boa ...

currently in service. The decision, which could save money in foreign exchange and boost local manufacture, was made by the former Chief of Army Staff, General

Dalbir Singh Suhag General Dalbir Singh Suhag, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC (born 28 December 1954) is the former Indian High Commissioner to Seychelles and a former Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. He was the 25th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the ...

. Several rifles are currently undergoing small arms trials with three prototype rifles made for testing as a future replacement to the INSAS rifle. The MCIWS has also found interest with the Indian

paramilitary forces A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

including the

Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...

Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces. The CRPF's primary role li ...

Indo-Tibetan Border Police The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border patrol organization of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian ...

and the

Sashastra Seema Bal Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB; ) is a border guarding force of India deployed along its borders with Nepal and Bhutan. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The fo ...

. According to a DRDO September 18, 2018 newsletter, the MCIWS is now ready for serial production. In October 2017, the MCIWS procurement was superseded by an Army process to acquire around 7 lakh 7.62mm calibre rifles. In February 2019, the Indian Army signed a deal with

SIG Sauer Several brother companies that design and manufacture firearms use the brand name SIG Sauer . The original company, ''Schweizerische Waggon-Fabrik'' (SWF), later ''Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft'' (SIG), went through several selloffs, ...

for the supply of 72,400 SIG716 G2 Patrol rifles of 7.62x51mm calibre. This was followed by a second order for a similar number of rifles in July 2020. On 3 March 2019, Russia and

inaugurated

Indo-Russia Rifles Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) is a rifle-manufacturing facility in Korwa, Amethi district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The factory will manufacture the AK-200 variant of the Kalashnikov family of rifles. The factory is a ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, India to produce 7.62x39mm AK-203 assault rifles as a replacement for the INSAS. However, no contract has been signed or rifles produced because of pricing disagreements. The factory is unlikely to begin production in 2020.

Design

The MCIWS is configured to fire in 5.56×45mm NATO,

7.62×39mm The 7.62×39mm (aka 7.62 Soviet, formerly .30 Russian Short) round is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge of Soviet origin. The cartridge is widely used due to the worldwide proliferation of Russian SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, as ...

and in

6.8mm Remington SPC The 6.8mm Remington Special Purpose Cartridge (6.8 SPC, 6.8 SPC II or 6.8×43mm) is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate rifle cartridge that was developed by Remington Arms in collaboration with members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and U ...

. Its design is influenced by both the

AR-15 An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...

and the

FN FNC The FNC (french: Fabrique Nationale Carabine) is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed by the Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal and introduced in the late 1970s. Development The FNC was developed between 1975–1977 for NATO standardiza ...

. The barrel assembly appears to be based on the

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...

. The design would allow soldiers to configure it according to the needs of the missions by changing rifle barrels. The MCIWS uses a gas-operated short stroke piston design, and uses 30-round plastic-type magazines. The rifle also has ambidextrous features, such as the charging lever and magazine release. The MCIWS includes an indigenous under barrel grenade launcher to fire airburst-type grenades which can take out targets up to 500 meters. Various sights can be mounted on the

Picatinny rail The Picatinny rail ( or ), or Pic rail for short, also known as a MIL-STD-1913 rail, 1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail (cancelled), is a military standard rail interface system that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It was o ...

on the upper receiver. The rifle is of aluminium alloy and features a modular, rivet-less design.

References

{{AK47 derivatives 7.62×39mm assault rifles 5.56 mm assault rifles Rifles of India Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2014 Kalashnikov derivatives

History

Design

See also

References