The Indian army does need to purchase a new rifle and replace the INSAS and AKM in the hands of the soldiers.

Not to mention the foreign news media, even the Indian news media lashed out at INSAS, calling it "a disgrace to the country and the army".

During the conflict, the INSAS assault rifle was not trusted by the soldiers, which even affected morale.

For example, at the Kargil Pass, the reinforced Indian officers and soldiers demanded that the AKM be replaced with INSAS, and some companies even offered not to go to the forward post without replacing INSAS.

In the words of an Indian soldier who was court-martial for fleeing his position without permission, even if the AKM is not good enough, it is better than the INSAS that does not sound.

Within a few days, all the news media in India joined in and lashed out at the Indian authorities.

To paraphrase an Hindu newspaper editorial, having soldiers go to the Siachen glacier with INSAS assault rifles is tantamount to sentencing them to death.

Of course, this is a bit of an exaggeration.

At the Siachen Glacier, soldiers on both sides rarely fired at each other, relying mainly on artillery, and the main mission of the infantry was to provide corrective data for artillery.

In fact, most of the news media that lashed out at INSAS took advantage of the arms companies.

Public opinion building can be regarded as a means of propaganda.

It's just that the rifle is by no means the most urgent need.

Don't forget, the Indian Army lost more than 200 heavy guns in the artillery battle, and the FH-77 towed howitzer was the mainstay, and it almost ran out of money.

Is artillery important, or is infantry important?

Obviously, that's not the point.

Strictly speaking, the INSAS assault rifle is just not suitable for use at high altitudes with extremely low temperatures, and even if it is not good enough, it is not impossible to use.

What's more, there is also AKM available.

Although the AKM is not good, it can even be said to be very bad, but there is no problem with reliability, what is lacking is only range and accuracy.

In other words, the Indian Army will not collapse even without the procurement of new rifles.

Even if there is another conflict with Pakistan, and it is still at the Kargil Pass and the Siachen Glacier, the Indian Army will continue to fight.

On the contrary, without artillery, without towed howitzers suitable for deployment in the plateau area, then it is really impossible to fight.

In fact, the Indian Army has long planned to purchase a light towed howitzer to replace the FH-77, and a special tender was launched a few years ago.

Of course, as is the tradition in India, the tender for the procurement of towed howitzers ended in nothing.

The first is that there is no suitable choice, the second is that there is not enough funding, the third is that there is no support from the top, and the fourth is ......

Anyway, there are a lot of reasons.

Until now, can it be delayed?

Having suffered so many losses, it is no longer a question of whether the artillery is good or not, but whether it is enough, so it is necessary to purchase a batch of towed howitzers as soon as possible to make up for the losses suffered in the conflict.

Of course, it is better to have a towed howitzer more advanced than the FH-77.

There are not many options to choose from.

All things considered, the most ideal choice is definitely Huaxia's AH-4 towed howitzer.

With a dead weight of 4.5 tons and a maximum range of 30 kilometers, it only needs up to 8 crew members to fire NATO standard ammunition, all of which meet India's needs.

The price is also relatively low.

It's a pity that even if India is willing to buy it, Huaxia will definitely not sell it.

The performance is comparable, and there is also the M777.

In fact, the market competitor targeted by AH-4 is M777, that is, M777 has been used as the standard in all aspects, and strives to partially surpass.

Strictly speaking, the M777 is the forced rent of modern gently towed howitzers, and it can also be said to be a pioneering work.

Compared with previous towed howitzers of the same caliber, the biggest feature of the M777 is that it is light enough without sacrificing performance.

How lightweight?

Able to be lifted with a ten-ton utility helicopter like MH-60!

Prior to the M777, U.S. tactical artillery could only use 105mm towed howitzers, as no helicopter was capable of lifting the bulky M198 towed howitzer.

In terms of tactical use, whether it can be lifted by helicopter or not is very different.

For example, if a battlefield like the Kargil Pass can be lifted by helicopter, the Indian army will no longer rely on the road and can send artillery to higher positions.

While the M777 is good enough, it is also very expensive.

How expensive is it?

A few years ago, that is, the last time the towed howitzer was selected for the army, India fell in love with the M777 and offered to buy 145 units, while the price offered by BAE Systems was $647 million, or a naked price, excluding supporting equipment and after-sales service.

What is this concept?

Counting supporting equipment and after-sales service, especially service support equipment, the total contract value must exceed 1 billion US dollars.

Besides, that was in 2012.

If it were now, it would not be surprising that the price would have doubled.

You must know that the export unit price of the whole system of AH-4 is less than 3 million US dollars, which is less than one-third of the external sales price of M777.

If India intends to purchase the M777 to replace the FH-77, it will need to prepare at least $4 billion.

Even just to make up for the loss of the FH-77 will cost 3 billion dollars.

If India can only come up with $4 billion, it will have to choose between rifles and artillery, and the latter will certainly be chosen.

In fact, when Wang Dong and the others returned to New Delhi, the Indian Ministry of Defense contacted BAE Systems.

Although it has dragged on since 2012, India has long had the intention of purchasing M777, and has not interrupted its contact with BAE Systems, and now it is only resuming procurement negotiations.

Of course, the price must be discussed, but the most difficult thing to negotiate is also the price.

You know, it's not BAE Systems that is begging India to buy it, it's India asking BAE Systems to sell it.

Just thinking about towed howitzers, and with the fundamental purpose of suppressing Pakistani artillery, there is simply no other option than the M777.

Quite simply, after the ceasefire, the Pakistani military released news that Army Commander Jilani had taken a military procurement delegation to China, during which he was invited to visit and exchange with the headquarters of the Ordnance Industry Group, which produces AH-4 towed howitzers, and met with company executives, including the general manager.

That is, it is quite possible that the Pakistani Army has already taken a fancy to the AH-4 towed howitzer.

With the relationship between the two countries, the Pakistan Army will definitely be able to buy the AH-4, and maybe it will get a good discount, and it will never suffer a loss.

If the future opponent of the Indian artillery is the AH-4, then only the M777 can be chosen.

Since there is no better option in India, why should BAE Systems cut prices?

From a business point of view, BAE Systems is well worth India without taking advantage of the price increase.

According to outside estimates, even if India still purchases 145 M777s, the total contract price will exceed $2 billion, and may even reach $2.5 billion.

In addition, it is very likely that the number of purchases finalized by India will exceed 300.

Well, at least $4 billion needs to be prepared.

At this point, does India still have extra funds to buy 500,000 rifles?

Wang Dong regretted a little, because he had known that the conflict between India and Pakistan would end so soon, and there was no need to give gifts to Rajani, and those gold bars worth 20 million US dollars were used to feed the dogs.