The Indian Air Force have been equipped with 'easy to operate' Russian-origin AK-103 assault rifles - believed to have much less recoil and be easier for soldiers to use - and the American-made Sig Sauer, news agency ANI said Thursday. A video shared by ANI showed the weapon being demonstrated at the IAF's Garud Special Forces regiment center in Uttar Pradesh's Bhagpat.
"Garud Spl Forces equipped with latest weaponry including American Sig Sauer and Russian origin AK-103 assault rifles. They'd also be provided with latest made-in-India AK-203 assault rifles... for specialist ops in counter-insurgency and other roles," officials said.
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The nearly eight-minute long video shows Garud Special Forces soldiers in various drills - shooting at targets in different positions. "... (will be) deployed in frontline areas along the China border from eastern Ladakh to Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, where they will carry out specialist ops...," Air Force officials told ANI.
{{/usCountry}}The nearly eight-minute long video shows Garud Special Forces soldiers in various drills - shooting at targets in different positions. "... (will be) deployed in frontline areas along the China border from eastern Ladakh to Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, where they will carry out specialist ops...," Air Force officials told ANI.
{{/usCountry}}The troops also have the Negev light machine guns (LMG) with Galil sniper rifles - both from Israel. The latter can take out enemy soldiers up to 1,000 metres away. The Garuds used the Negev LMG during the Rakht Hajin special op in Jammu and Kashmir, in which five terrorists were killed and Corporal Jyoti Prakash Nirala was awarded the Ashok Chakra posthumously.
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The Garud Special Forces have been deployed in high-altitude positions along the China border for specialist ops on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since May 2020.
Their presence - and better weaponry for them - is critical now given China's aggression in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector earlier this month.