Gwalior. A country’s defense company on Saturday handed over the first batch of 2,000 ‘Prahar’ light machine guns (LMGs) manufactured under the ‘Make in India’ initiative to the Indian Army. This LMG named ‘Prahar’ is of 7.62 mm caliber which has been manufactured by ‘Adani Defense and Aerospace’ at its small arms complex located on the outskirts of Gwalior.
A ceremony was organized at the concerned premises on Saturday to hand over the LMG to the Army, in which Defense Ministry Director General (Procurement) A. Ambarasu and ‘Adani Defense and Aerospace’ Chief Executive Officer Ashish Rajvanshi and other senior officials of the private company attended.
Later, Ambarasu flagged off trucks carrying the first consignment of LMGs meant for the Army. “The journey that has begun today took us six years to complete – from bid submission till now – and we have completed and handed it over 11 months ahead of schedule,” Rajvanshi told reporters after the flag off.
“The original timeline given to us by the customer was more than seven years, but I can assure you that the entire order will be delivered in the next three years,” he said. A company spokesperson said the total order for the LMG is about 40,000 weapons. Ambarasu praised the company for delivering the first consignment several months ahead of schedule. He said that the government stands shoulder to shoulder with the defense industry stakeholders.
Talking about the features of ‘Prahar’ LMG, its firepower is quite effective. Its range is about 1,000 meters. It can fire about 700 bullets in a minute. It has both a 120-round drum magazine and belt feed options. It can be reloaded in a matter of seconds.
It weighs about 8 kg and can be used from land as well as vehicles and helicopters. The shock (recoil) during firing is also less. The Indian Army had issued a proposal for the purchase of more than 40,000 LMGs in 2019, while the contract was awarded in 2024.
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