The Indian Army is seeking to buy 22,000 long-range night sights for infantry assault rifles.
The purchase has been authorised to minimise the casualties in cross-border fire or during counter-terror operations in Kashmir. The sights will be manufactured in India and used by troops deployed on the frontline.
“Thermal Imaging Night Sights would enable troops to undertake long range accurate engagements in dark and all weather conditions thereby enhancing the night fighting capabilities,” the Indian Defence Ministry said.
The search was launched after the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, approved the design, development and manufacturing of 'Thermal Imaging Night Sights' for assault rifles in November 2019.
The army said the uncooled thermal imagine sight desired by the Indian Army should be lightweight and able to accurately engage targets in the hours of darkness.
The Indian Army has already initiated the process to eliminate the night blindness of tanks and light machine guns, which have been used by infantry deployed along the Pakistan border.
Having a range of around 1,000-meters is crucial in the mountainous Himalayan border regions where visual range remains important.
The army has been seeking long range night vision devices because it recently lost a large number of soldiers on the border with Pakistan following the air strike conducted by the Indian Air Force inside Pakistan in February 2019.
