New Delhi: India today signed a contract with Israel Weapon Industries for buying 16,479 of its ‘Negev‘ light machine guns, meeting a long-standing need to modernise standard issue weapons for its armed forces.

“The Acquisition Wing of Ministry of Defence has signed the capital acquisition contract with Israel Weapons Industries for procurement of 16,479 LMGs at a cost of Rs 880 crore with the approval of Raksha Mantri (Minister of Defence) Rajnath Singh,” an official statement from the government said.

The modern, state-of-the-art Negev 7.62X51 mm Light Machine Gun (LMG) is a combat proven weapon and currently used by several countries around the globe. This LMG will greatly enhance the lethality and range of a soldier vis-a-vis the presently used weapon,” the statement said.

The provisioning of this operationally urgent and very critically needed weapon will boost the confidence of the front line troops and provide much needed combat power to the armed forces.