Multi Calibre Individual Weapon System (MCIWS) is an
assault rifle developed in
India by the
Armament Research and Development Establishment, a laboratory of the
Defence Research and Development Organisation.
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 chose an indigenous assault rifle to replace the
INSAS rifle 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
Chief of Army Staff or Chief of the Army Staff which is generally abbreviated as COAS is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies.
* Chief of Army (Australia ...
, 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 In ...
. 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 including the
Border Security Force,
Central Reserve Police Force,
Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the
Sashastra Seema Bal.
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In October 2017, the MCIWS procurement was superseded by an Army process to acquire around 7 lakh 7.62mm calibre rifles.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
India inaugurated
Indo-Russia Rifles in
Uttar Pradesh, 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
The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, but often pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, and ...
,
7.62×39mm and in
6.8mm Remington SPC.
Its design is influenced by both the
AR-15 and the
FN FNC.
The barrel assembly appears to be based on the
AK-47.
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 on the upper receiver.
The rifle is of aluminium alloy and features a modular, rivet-less design.
See also
*
Amogh carbine
*
Excalibur rifle
*
INSAS rifle
References
{{AK47 derivatives
7.62×39mm assault rifles
5.56 mm assault rifles
Rifles of India
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2014
Kalashnikov derivatives