Why the Indian Army's Search to Find Sniper Rifles Seems Neverending

原标题：为何印度军队寻找狙击步枪的征途似乎永无止境

While the Army is taking delivery of some 750 Sako TRG-42 sniper rifles from Finland, it recently dispatched a restricted request for proposal for nearly 5,000 more.

虽然印度陆军正从芬兰接收约 750 支 Sako TRG-42 狙击步枪，但近期又秘密发布了近 5000 支同类步枪的招标公告。

Chandigarh: The Indian Army is taking delivery of some 750 Sako TRG-42 sniper rifles from Finland and around 355,000 rounds of specialised .338 Lapua Magnum rounds for an estimated $7-8 million, as a follow-on procurement of both weapon systems and ammunition it had twice imported recently.

昌迪加尔：印度陆军正从芬兰接收约 750 支 Sako TRG-42 狙击步枪及 35.5 万发专用.338 拉普阿马格南子弹，总价约 700-800 万美元。这是继近期两次进口后，对武器系统及弹药的后续采购。

Industry sources said the bolt-action TRG-42 .338 inch (8.6x70mm) rifles acquired under the army’s ‘emergency provisions’ for employment by its Parachute Regiment followed the previous procurement of some 32 identical rifles for its Special Forces in 2018, alongside some 70,000 Lapua Magnum rounds.

业内消息称，这批通过陆军"紧急条款"采购的.338 英寸（8.6x70 毫米）栓动式 TRG-42 步枪将配发给伞兵团使用。此前印军特种部队曾在 2018 年采购过 32 支同型号步枪及约 7 万发拉普阿马格南子弹。

This limited sniper rifle buy was succeeded in 2021, by the purchase of yet another 370-odd TRG-42s and over 420,000 identical Lapua Magnum rounds, also via the forces emergency procurement proviso, for use by its Parachute Regiment.

2021 年，印军再次通过紧急采购条款为伞兵团添置了 370 余支 TRG-42 步枪和 42 万余发同型号子弹，延续了这种小规模狙击步枪采购模式。

Shortlisted after trials in 2017-18 over Accuracy International’s AWM rifle model from the UK, the TRG-42s were needed urgently to supplement the Army’s legacy 7.62x54mm Soviet-era semi-automatic Dragunov SVD Designated Marksman Rifles (DMR).

TRG-42 步枪在 2017-18 年测试中击败英国精密国际公司的 AWM 型号后中标。印军急需该枪来补充现役的 7.62x54 毫米苏制半自动德拉贡诺夫 SVD 精确射手步枪（DMR）。

Designed in the 1950s, the Dragunov rifles, with a 1,200m kill range, first entered Indian Army service in the mid-1980s and for nearly four decades thereafter bridged the engagement gap between a service rifle and a dedicated sniper rifle. But a large number of the 6,000-odd Dragunovs that were currently in the army’s inventory needed upgrading or replacing, with the TRG-42s merely a ‘stopgap’ measure to plug an immediate operational void, official sources said.

20 世纪 50 年代设计的德拉贡诺夫步枪有效射程达 1200 米，于 80 年代中期首次列装印度陆军，在此后近四十年间填补了制式步枪与专业狙击步枪之间的火力空白。但官方消息人士称，目前陆军库存的约 6000 支德拉贡诺夫步枪中大量需要升级或更换，而 TRG-42 步枪仅是填补当前作战空白的"权宜之计"。

Multiple attempts by the Army from 2009 onwards to acquire sniper rifles for deployment along India’s disputed borders with Pakistan and China had failed, due principally not only to the force’s questionable and nebulous qualitative requirements (QRs) for the weapon system but also unrealistic delivery schedules.

自 2009 年以来，印度陆军多次尝试采购狙击步枪部署在印巴、印中争议边境，但均以失败告终。这主要归咎于军方对武器系统提出的质量要求(QRs)既模糊不清又缺乏依据，同时还设定了不切实际的交付时间表。

And to add to the Army’s enduring sniper rifle shortfall woes, the weapon system featured on the Ministry of Defence (MoD)’s December 2020 list of items whose import was embargoed forthwith under the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative aimed at securing self-sufficiency in armaments.

更令陆军长期面临的狙击步枪短缺问题雪上加霜的是，该武器系统被列入国防部 2020 年 12 月发布的禁运清单。根据政府"自力更生的印度"倡议，这些武器装备将立即禁止进口以实现自给自足。

Consequently, the MoD dispatched a restricted request for proposal (RfP) to around 30 local vendors on October 18 for 4,849 sniper rifles and 7,841,575 rounds of .338 Lapua Magnum ammunition worth an estimated $60-70 million. Industry officials said these recipients included only those vendors who had responded to the MoD’s request for information dispatched in June 2022 for the planned sniper rifle procurement.

因此，印度国防部于 10 月 18 日向约 30 家本土供应商发出限制性招标书（RfP），采购 4,849 支狙击步枪及 7,841,575 发.338 拉普马格南弹药，总价值约 6000 至 7000 万美元。业内官员表示，这些受邀供应商均为曾响应国防部 2022 年 6 月就计划中的狙击步枪采购项目所发信息征询函的厂商。

According to the RfP, 4,549 bolt-action sniper rifles intended for the Army, 212 for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and 88 for the Indian Navy (IN), were to be procured under the ‘Buy Indian’ category of the Defence Acquisition Procedure, 2020. If locally designed, the rifles would need to have an indigenous content of 50%, and if not, this proportion would increase to 60%, the RfP stated in what will be the first-ever instance of the Indian military sourcing a sniper rifle domestically.

根据招标文件，计划按照《2020 年国防采购程序》中的"印度制造"类别，为陆军采购 4,549 支栓动式狙击步枪，为印度空军采购 212 支，为印度海军采购 88 支。招标文件指出，若采用本土设计，步枪的国产化率需达到 50%；若非本土设计，这一比例则需提升至 60%。这将成为印度军队首次在国内采购狙击步枪的实例。

Calling upon prospective bidders to file their responses by January 11, the RfP outlined its requirement for a sniper rifle capable of firing .338 Lapua Magnum rounds to a distance of not less than 1,200 metres to an accuracy of no more than 1 minute of angle or 1MoA. The MoA factor that’s frequently used to delineate the accuracy of firearms, sights and ammunition, correlates to the minute hand of a 360-degrees clock face, with each minute denoting 1/60th of a degree. Getting this dimension exactly right whilst sniping is critical, as even a minuscule miscalculation or deviation from the 1MoA can result in the shooter missing the target.

招标文件要求潜在投标方在 1 月 11 日前提交方案，明确寻求一款能发射.338 拉普马格南子弹的狙击步枪，射程不低于 1200 米且精度不超过 1 角分（1MoA）。角分是衡量枪械、瞄准镜及弹药精度的常用指标，对应 360 度钟面每分钟 1/60 度的角度。狙击时精确把控这一参数至关重要，即便细微偏离 1 角分也可能导致脱靶。

Furthermore, the 119-page RfP requires the rifle, including its muzzle break that prevents recoil, to measure 1,250mm, weigh no more than 9 kg along with its bi-pod, empty magazine and telescopic sight and be equipped with a MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny Rail for mounting accessories.

此外，这份 119 页的招标文件要求该步枪（含用于防止后坐力的枪口制退器）全长须为 1250 毫米，连同两脚架、空弹匣和光学瞄准镜在内总重不超过 9 公斤，并配备符合 MIL-STD 1913 标准的皮卡汀尼导轨以安装配件。

The rifle’s butt stock would also need to be fitted with an adjustable cheek-rest, while the weapon system would be required to operate in temperatures varying between -20° C and 45° C, in addition to possessing a ‘minimum’ service life of 10 years or 5,000 rounds, whichever came earlier. The vendor would also be required to provide 10 years of product support for the rifles, alongside instructing their maintenance crew, amongst myriad other requirements the RfP detailed.

该步枪的枪托还需配备可调节贴腮板，武器系统须能在-20°C 至 45°C 温度范围内正常运作，并具备"至少"10 年或 5000 发子弹的使用寿命（以先到者为准）。根据招标文件要求，供应商还需为这些步枪提供 10 年产品支持，并培训维护人员等众多条款。

But delivery schedules for the shortlisted sniper rifle were highly demanding and somewhat implausible, requiring all 4,849 rifles to be supplied between 6 and 48 weeks after the contract for them was signed.

但中标狙击步枪的交货时间表极为严苛且近乎不切实际，要求全部 4,849 支步枪需在合同签署后 6 至 48 周内完成交付。

The RfP stipulated that the first lot of 800 rifles needed to be delivered within 6-12 weeks, the second batch of 1,200 weapons in 13-24 weeks, the third consignment of 1,400 pieces between 25-36 weeks, and the fourth and final delivery of 1,449 rifles in 37-48 weeks. The proposed delivery schedule for all 7,841,575 .338 Lapua Magnum rounds, technology for which would need to be imported as there was none available locally, too stipulated a parallel timetable.

招标文件规定：首批 800 支步枪需在 6-12 周内交付，第二批 1,200 支在 13-24 周内，第三批 1,400 支在 25-36 周内，最后一批 1,449 支在 37-48 周内完成。对于需进口技术的 7,841,575 发.338 拉普马格南子弹，招标文件同样制定了并行的交付时间表。

‘Highly difficult’  

极其困难

Industry officials and a cross-section of prospective sniper rifle vendors, however, were highly critical of the extraordinarily ‘severe and challenging’ delivery schedules and of the MoD ‘lixing’ the rifle and ammunition procurements. They maintained that the MoD tender was possibly the largest ever in the world for sniper rifles which, considering their esoteric employment, were made in small numbers, almost individually hand-crafted and meticulously tested. Manufacturing sniper rifles en masse in such industrial volumes would make it ‘highly difficult, if not impossible’ to secure 1MoA levels of accuracy, stated a potential vendor.

然而，行业官员和部分潜在狙击步枪供应商对异常"严苛且充满挑战"的交货期限，以及国防部将步枪与弹药采购"捆绑"的做法提出强烈批评。他们坚持认为，国防部此次招标可能是全球规模最大的狙击步枪采购项目，而考虑到这类武器的特殊用途，其生产数量本就稀少，几乎每支都是手工精制并经过严格测试。一位潜在供应商表示，以如此工业化的规模批量生产狙击步枪，将使得枪支"即便不是完全不可能，也极难"达到 1 角分的精度标准。

Besides, combining the sniper rifle buy with that of Lapua Magnum ammunition, he maintained was an ‘impossible ask’. Worldwide, he stated there was just one such vendor who manufactured both rifle and Lapua Magnum rounds, with the latter production executed by two separate entities in the same industrial group.

此外，该供应商指出将狙击步枪采购与拉普阿马格南弹药捆绑是"不可能完成的任务"。他表示全球范围内仅有一家供应商同时生产步枪和拉普阿马格南弹药，且后者由同一工业集团下属的两个独立实体负责生产。

“It is impracticable to expect indigenous vendors getting into designing and producing sniper rifles for the first time to also take on contractual risks, equalling half the $60-70 million contract, to produce the ammunition too,” he declared, declining to be named. In all probability, he added, the Lapua Magnum rounds requirement had been included in the RfP by the MoD to preclude ‘past bungling’ by the Army, in which it had taken delivery of the weapon system, but without any ammunition.

"指望首次涉足狙击步枪设计与生产的本土供应商同时承担合同风险——相当于 6000 万至 7000 万美元合同金额的一半——来生产配套弹药，这是不现实的，"这位不愿具名的官员表示。他补充说，国防部在招标书中加入拉普阿马格南弹药要求，极可能是为了避免陆军重蹈覆辙——过去曾接收武器系统却未配备任何弹药。

Even technically, other probable vendors pointed out that the RfP had failed to include a night sight, critical for snipers – who normally execute their lethal skills at dusk, or under cover of darkness. Acquiring a night sight later, they argued, would necessitate ‘mating’ it with the rifle, invariably a complicated operation involving certification by the manufacturer, which entailed fulfilling a host of complex technicalities.

从技术层面而言，其他潜在供应商指出招标书竟未包含狙击手关键装备——夜视瞄准镜（狙击手通常在黄昏或夜色掩护下执行致命任务）。他们提出，后续单独采购夜视镜将不得不与步枪进行"匹配"，这必然涉及制造商认证的复杂流程，需要满足大量繁琐的技术要求。

Also not included in the tender was a Military Spotter Scope for the sniper’s buddy with reticle markings or cross-hair aiming point, which normally matched, if not surpassed, the sniper’s telescopic sight to assist the shooter in effecting immediate corrections. A sniper team normally comprises the shooter and the equally critical spotter, or buddy, who determines and judges the wind direction and speed, providing the shooter with all the necessary data to ensure a successful hit. But in India’s military, this practice was not followed.

招标同样未包含配备分划板或十字瞄准点的军用观测镜——这种辅助装备的性能通常不逊于甚至超越狙击镜，能帮助射手即时修正弹道。标准狙击小组本应由射手与同等重要的观测员（搭档）组成，后者负责测定风速风向并为射手提供确保命中所需的全部数据。但印军并未遵循这一国际惯例。

A history of poorly thought QRs

印度军方长期存在技术规格书（QRs）制定欠妥的问题

Ironically, in July 2019, the MoD scrapped its 2018 RfP to overseas manufacturers for 5,719 8.6x70mm sniper rifles and 10.2 million rounds of ammunition, after bids by four vendors had failed to meet the Army’s QRs for the weapon alongside ‘unworkable’ delivery schedules. The four vendors then were PT Pindad (Indonesia), Rosoboronexport (Russia), Barrett and MSA Global (the US).

讽刺的是，2019 年 7 月，印度国防部取消了 2018 年向海外制造商招标采购 5,719 支 8.6x70 毫米狙击步枪及 1,020 万发弹药的提案，原因是四家投标商的方案均未能满足陆军对该武器的质量要求，且交货时间表"不可行"。这四家投标商分别是印尼的 PT Pindad、俄罗斯的 Rosoboronexport、美国的 Barrett 和 MSA Global。

This RfP had also required sniper rifle vendors to supply 5.26 million rounds of .338 Lapua Magnum ammunition off the shelf, followed by technology transfer to the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board and private sector companies to locally manufacture an additional 4.60 million rounds.

该招标文件还要求狙击步枪供应商现货供应 526 万发.338 拉普马格南弹药，并向原印度军械工厂委员会及私营企业转让技术，以本土化生产另外 460 万发弹药。

“It’s commercially unviable for any manufacturer of this kind of advanced ammunition to transfer technology for merely 4.6 million rounds,” said a senior executive from one of Europe’s leading sniper rifle makers. It’s simply naïve for the MoD and the army to make such demands which are almost certain to be turned down, he added on condition of anonymity.

欧洲某顶尖狙击步枪制造商的高管表示："对于任何生产此类先进弹药的企业而言，仅为 460 万发子弹就转让技术是毫无商业可行性的。"这位要求匿名的官员补充说，国防部和军方提出这种几乎必然会被拒绝的要求，实在太过天真。

The proposed delivery schedule of the rifles at the time had also posed logistic problems, as it required the shortlisted original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to deliver the first lot of 707 rifles within six months of the contract being signed, and the remaining 5,012 supplied in batches of 1,200 units each over the next 30 months.

当时拟定的步枪交付时间表也存在物流难题，要求入围的原厂设备制造商（OEM）在合同签订后六个月内交付首批 707 支步枪，剩余 5,012 支需在未来 30 个月内以每批 1,200 支的规模分批交付。

“No sniper rifle manufacturer produces such large numbers in the time stipulated in the RfP,” said the above-mentioned executive. The RfP, he said, was badly conceived, leaving the MoD no choice but to withdraw it. The latest RfP for 4,849 sniper rifles, he also warned, was merely iterating the earlier error with regard to both the delivery timetable and supplying ammunition. Both could well jeopardise the entire procurement yet again, he cautioned.

上述高管指出："没有狙击步枪制造商能在招标书规定的时限内完成如此大批量生产。"他表示该招标书存在严重设计缺陷，国防部最终只能撤回。他同时警告称，最新采购 4,849 支狙击步枪的招标书在交付时间表和弹药供应方面仍在重复先前错误，这两大问题很可能再次导致整个采购计划流产。

Formerly, another sniper rifle tender in 2009-2010 via the MoD’s Fast Track Procedure, which mandates a 12-month deadline to conclude the procurement, was similarly terminated, due to the Army’s QRs that failed in mandating accuracy standards at a minimum range of 800m and absurdly required the weapon system to be fitted with a bayonet.

此前，印度国防部在 2009-2010 年通过快速通道程序发起的另一项狙击步枪招标同样无果而终——该程序规定采购流程须在 12 个月内完成，但陆军提出的定性要求（QRs）不仅未能规定 800 米最小射程的精度标准，还荒谬地要求该武器系统必须配备刺刀。

It was incomprehensible to the handful of OEMs to determine why a sniper rifle, purposed for exclusive employment at extended distances needed a bayonet that is normally used by infantry soldiers in close combat. The highly nebulous RfP also failed to differentiate between a bolt-action and semi-automatic sniper rifle model, which is usually fundamental to such QR determinants.

少数原始设备制造商无法理解，为何一款专为远距离作战设计的狙击步枪需要配备通常由步兵在近距离作战中使用的刺刀。这份高度模糊的征求建议书（RfP）也未能区分栓动式与半自动狙击步枪型号——而这通常是此类量化要求（QR）决定因素的基础。

The Indian Navy, on the other hand, was more professional in its approach and in late 2016 had acquired 177 Sako TIKKA t3 TAC 7.62x51mm bolt-action sniper rifles from Italy’s Beretta for around $3 million. sexted over UK’s Steel Core Designs Thunderbolt SC-76 model, the Sako rifle upgraded the Navy’s Marine Commando (MARCOS) firepower and included 100,000 rounds of 7.62x51mm expert Match grade ammunition. In recent years, the secretive MARCOS have been increasingly deployed on anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Malacca.

相比之下，印度海军的采购方式更为专业，于 2016 年底以约 300 万美元的价格从意大利伯莱塔公司采购了 177 支萨科 TIKKA t3 TAC 7.62×51 毫米栓动式狙击步枪。这款击败英国 Steel Core Designs 公司 Thunderbolt SC-76 型号的萨科步枪，提升了海军陆战队突击队（MARCOS）的火力配置，配套采购的还包括 10 万发 7.62×51 毫米专业级比赛弹药。近年来，这支神秘的特种部队正越来越多地被部署到亚丁湾和马六甲海峡执行反海盗任务。

Meanwhile, some 3,500-4,000 Indian Army snipers – around 10 per infantry battalion – remain little better than amateurs compared to their Western, and even Chinese counterparts. They lacked adequate training, suitable weaponry and supplementary paraphernalia like accurate imported Match ammunition, hand-held laser range finders, night sights and related hardware, essential to accomplish this highly skilled and deathly mission. Army shooters were routinely issued locally-produced ammunition, which experts dismissed as ‘wholly inaccurate’ and one that defeated the very purpose of sniping.

与此同时，印度陆军约 3500 至 4000 名狙击手——每支步兵营约配备 10 人——与西方甚至中国同行相比，仍近乎业余水平。他们缺乏充分训练、合适武器及配套装备，如精确的进口比赛级弹药、手持激光测距仪、夜视瞄准镜及相关硬件，而这些对完成这项高技能且致命的使命至关重要。陆军射手们常规配发的是国产弹药，专家们认为其"完全不准"，彻底违背了狙击的初衷。

As The Wire has previously reported, retired military officers have rued that India has made no attempt at building up the ethos of sniping in the Army or any other security agencies.

正如《The Wire》此前报道，退役军官们慨叹印度从未尝试在陆军或任何其他安全机构中培养狙击文化。

It also remains to be seen whether the domestic sourcing of sniper rifles is ably vindicated. A cross-section of possible vendors stated that in all likelihood, all the rifles participating in the sextion trials would be imported. The shortlisted rifle would then be acquired in limited numbers in knocked-down kits and assembled locally, as the sexted vendor gradually indigenises and certifies the processes.

国产狙击步枪的采购能否顺利通过验证仍有待观察。多位潜在供应商表示，参与选型测试的步枪极有可能全部依赖进口。中标步枪将以散件形式少量采购并在本土组装，随着中标供应商逐步实现生产本土化并通过工艺认证，这一进程将逐步推进。

Is it time for the MoD to get real and learn from its past errors? Perhaps, if it is listening.

国防部是否该正视现实并吸取过去的教训了？如果他们愿意倾听的话。