What MOD lacks is future foresight, if they made a better choice today, they could have saved alot of money in the future...if the deal goes through, expect the army to spend money later on for upgrades or even complete replacement. I still think its not that bad for the average joe who isnt going to see combat anytime soon, but our special ops guys and the soldiers fighting on the front deserve better.
I think the sig is going to win, the us army is not going to buy a bullpup and the textron is very complicated internally.
I am not saying that it is a bad choice because the Rifle is bad,but it is the bad choice because selecting a relatively modern platform ,would result in more adaptability,flexibility as per advent in technology in small arms,accessories and optics.A modern platform would have been more versatile in terms of keeping up with the need of future soldier.When we are talking about selecting rifle,we are not talking about today but around next 30 years.
Regarding combat,war is not something which you can schedule,unless you are going to start it.
I agree,however never say never,the bull pup design does offer some advantage over the conventional one,with increase in firefight in built up areas and most of the army being mechanized it does present a strong case for itself .Tex-tron design does seem complicated,however it does offer certain feature above its competitors,further we are yet to see its reliability and disassembly and assembly.If it is reliable and the maintenance is easy it might have some chance,as optics and sensors are going to be the future in firefights,and here it does score high.
Yes,it is not free float in true sense,as anything with a gas block cannot be free floated even if it is gas impingement like m4. However ,the term free float in gun industry is being generally used to describe a hand guard which is devoid of any direct contact with the barrel.The reason being to avoid any external pressure on the hand guard acting upon the barrel.The Hand guard of the ak 12/15 follow the same principle by locking at the receiver in the rear and interlocking at the front ,thereby avoiding any contact with the rifle barrel.The theory behind this being that any accessory ,sling mounted on the hand guard will not affect the barrel,similarly your grip or when you place the rifle on a support platform will not interfere with the barrel.Now,how much benefit it does bring in term of accuracy,I cannot say without conducting elaborate testing ,however this norm is being followed by almost every new rifle design,so it has to have some merit to it.
BTW We had the exact argument earlier also,and I have replied the same :
-Yes ,you are correct .If we go into technicality ,an AK with piston and gas block cannot have free floated barrel in its true sense,same goes with the AR platform or any other rifle with gas block or piston.
When we talk about free floated barrel /hand guard on ak ,it basically means that the hand guard will be devoid of any contact with the barrel.I had used the word "harmonics" in general way not in its technical term,by that I meant that any outside pressure on the hand guard like bi pod,sling,resting the hand guard on a support will not affect the barrel.
"Free floating " be it on ar or ak does not aim to arrest or reduce the vibrations on the barrel ,but to let the barrel vibrate freely in harmony,without any outside pressure point through the hand guard acting on it.Yes,free floating is more effective on heavier barrel but that does not mean it has no effect on thinner barrels.The main purpose is to avoid any outside pressure points working on the barrel..
So when we talk about free floating on AK ,it is basically to avoid any outside pressure on the hand guard acting on the barrel,which could lead to change in point of impact.As far as AK 15 is concerned ,the person who is involved in testing has reported improvement in accuracy due to free floating barrel/hand guard on it.
There is nothing wrong with AKM's and its variants.
AKM and its variant,AK 103 in this case are great rifles,especially when it comes to reliability and simplicity.Moreover would still rate AK 203 as one of the best gun in 7.62x39mm. However it would be factually incorrect to say that there is nothing wrong with AKM and it's variant,I don't think there is any single rifle devoid of any issues,because then it would be "perfect",and I am yet to see such rifle.
My biggest issue with akm family of rifles is the lack of stability of top cover and difficulty to return to zero after disassembly.Even though the Russian and other in the industry have tried to deal with it through hinged and reinforced heavy dust cover ,however how it will hold few years down the line with high use,abuse by military is yet to be seen.Further a reflex sight would do fine in an ak,but will it be same for more sensitive optics,scopes I am doubtful. This is one of the biggest drawback of ak and other rifles based on its design eg Galil ace.
I have repeatedly said ak 103/ak 203 are great rifles ,however these are not the rifles I would wish for TOT in 2020.I would rather wish for a TOT of a more stable,modular and flexible design ,which will not only help me to derive a whole new range of small arms from it,but also help in evolving the rifle with time.The AK with ak 12 has reached the pinnacle of its evolution,there is nothing you could do more with the AK design.However the doubts on the stability of top cover,return to zero are still there ,only time will tell how much was the new design is successful in dealing with these issues.
On the other hand the Russian have already dumped the SVD ,and AK74u design and moved on to a more modern design.Does this mean that these were bad platforms,absolutely not! both of them have rich legacy,however you need to evolve,for this you will have to take risk,try new things,come out of your comfort zone.
Even the Russians have moved from humble AK in 1949 to AKM,ak 74,ak 74m to ak 12 .
Similarly one could argue what is wrong with m16 and its derivatives,but still the Americans are looking at new rifles,and the three shortlisted rifles are different design than the original m16.
Nothing generally wrong with these rifles ,but still they were changed for a more modular,modern design.
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I don't think AK 103 is a big upgrade over insas other than the reliability.This does not mean AK 103 is a bad rifle,infact a very good rifle in its own right,but imo we should have gone with a more modern design.With the TOT ,we will learn to make good ak,but will this knowledge help us in design,development and manufacturing of other modern small arms is doubtful.So you buy TOT of a design which is at the end of its life cycle that too at a bloated price of $1100,and then you wonder what is wrong.If we have to opt for a legacy design ,then we could have bought the TOT of Finnish RK 62 or Czech vz 58 at a much lower price,both of them accomplished rifles in their own sense. Btw by watering down the already basic ak 203 rifle,Indian government has shown its socialist mindset of cutting corners to save penny.
SSS p72 is clearly superior to AK 103 in its design,features,modularity and ergonomics. It is a more future proof rifle,only thing remain to be seen is its accuracy,reliability,and metallurgy. However these are not something which cannot be worked upon,improved and fine tuned.I think DRDO,army,SSS defence could have worked upon this rifle,to bring it to serviceable standard ,that too "if" this rifle was not already at that standard.Which we would have known if it was given a fair trial against AK 203.
Why SSS defence?it will boost startups in defence manufacturing,it will help SSS defence compete at the global level,ALL the IP will be owned by Indian manufacturer,who could alter the rifle as per wish of the forces,It will boost Indian R&d in small arms,Help to create jobs,money earned will be directed towards the growth of Indian defence manufacturing,it will be way more economical that the ak 203,it will be made in India in true sense.They have taken the risk,and have shown potential in form of their rifles,Now it is the duty of the government to walk the talk and back this startup.If they are worried for the jobs of the inept OFB,then OFB could produce these rifles under licensee for CAPF and Police.Win win for both OFB and SSS defence ,most importantly brand made in India .
