In a major boost to India’s defence manufacturing capabilities, Adani Defence & Aerospace has delivered the first batch of 2,000 Prahar 7.62×51 mm Light Machine Guns (LMGs) to the Indian Army from its Gwalior facility.
This marks the initial delivery out of a total order of 41,000 LMGs, manufactured by PLR System, a joint venture between Adani Defence & Aerospace and Israeli Weapon Industries (IWI).
According to the company, the delivery has been completed 11 months ahead of schedule. The First-of-Production Model (FOPM) was achieved in 6 months against a planned 18-month timeline, followed by Bulk Production Clearance (BPC), enabling rapid scale-up.
- Anbarasu, DG Acquisition & Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence, said, “Today, we have flagged off the dispatch of 2,000 LMG Prahar guns by saving 600 days and dispatching them well ahead of schedule.”
He added, “The scale and speed are very critical for improving the Indian defence industry ecosystem, and I’m optimistic that in the coming days, the private industries and public sector industries, all defence industries, will rise to the occasion and meet their potential.”
On policy reforms, he said, “From the policymaking side, the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) is in the process of being amended, and we are working on it. We will ensure that the new Defence Acquisition Procedure meets the aspirations of the industry and helps in adding to the Indian defence ecosystem…”
Manufactured at Adani Defence’s fully integrated small arms facility in Gwalior, the Prahar LMG weighs 8 kg and has an effective range of 1000 m. The project supports India’s push towards reducing dependence on imported infantry weapons.
Ashish Rajwanshi, President and CEO of Adani Aerospace and Defence, said the company has evolved into a full gun OEM over the past 5 years. “The whole focus was not about supplying a product or a gun, but to build a deep capability in India across the whole portfolio of small arms,” he said.
He added that the facility has the capacity to manufacture up to 100000 guns annually.
Spread across 100 acres, the Gwalior facility includes barrel manufacturing, CNC machining, robotics, surface treatment, precision metrology, a metallurgy lab, and a 25-metre underground firing range.
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