Indian Army embarks on a new hunt for carbines Indian Army embarks on a new hunt for carbines | India Today Insight Puts out fresh request to global manufacturers for the close-combat weapons advertisement UPDATED: February 12, 2021 15:07 IST Indian Army personnel take position during the encounter with suspected terrorists at Lawaypora in Srinagar, Dec. 30 (ANI) The Indian Army has issued a fresh Request for Information (RFI) for a fast-track procurement of 93,895 carbines. This comes five months after the defence ministry revoked the case for procuring a similar number of carbines under the Fast-Track Procedure (FTP). The RFIs were issued on February 10 to multiple Indian and global manufacturers, including Caracal, Colt, SiG Sauer, Beretta, Thales and Adani Defence. In 2018, UAE gun maker Caracal’s CAR 816 carbine had emerged as the lowest bidder in the FTP initiated by the Indian Army for a new compact weapon to replace its World War 2 vintage 9 mm 1A1 ‘Sterling’ carbine. As before, the army wants the new carbine chambered for the 5.56x45 mm cartridge. At just a single page, the army’s new RFI is far simpler compared to its three-page RFI in 2018. The service aims to procure the weapons within a year of the contract signing. The size of this deal is not yet known, but if one were to make estimation from Caracal’s 2018 bid, then it would likely be upwards of $110 million (over Rs 800 crore).