GWALIOR — Marking a significant milestone for the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Adani Defence and Aerospace on Saturday successfully delivered the first batch of 2,000 Prahar Light Machine Guns (LMGs) to the Indian Armed Forces.
The 7.62 mm-calibre weapons were entirely manufactured at the company’s state-of-the-art Small Arms Complex, located on the outskirts of Gwalior.
Accelerated Delivery Timeline While the original contract provided a comfortable window for completion, Adani Defence has drastically accelerated its production schedule. Ashish Rajvanshi, CEO of Adani Defence and Aerospace, highlighted the unprecedented pace of the manufacturing team.
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Contract Details: The firm was initially given seven years to deliver a total of 41,000 LMGs.
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New Target: Rajvanshi stated that the team expects to complete the entire order in less than three years.
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Production Rate: Moving forward, the facility is confident in its capacity to produce 1,000 LMGs every single month.
A Journey to ‘Aatmanirbharta’ The delivery event was attended by A. Anbarasu, Director General (Acquisition) at the Ministry of Defence, along with other senior officials. Anbarasu officially flagged off the convoy of trucks carrying the first batch of LMGs destined for the Army, noting that the rapid delivery demonstrates the private sector’s ability to “race against time” when converting defense contracts into active production.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, Rajvanshi reflected on the company’s rapid evolution within the defense sector.
“It has taken us six years to reach this point. The journey started in 2020 with a vision and the dream of ‘Aatmanirbharta’. With the perseverance and hard work of the team, along with the support of policymakers over the last five years, we can proudly say that we have moved from being a component manufacturer to a full-gun OEM,” Rajvanshi noted.
He further emphasized that acquiring the base technology from partners was highly instrumental in tying the project back to the broader ‘Make in India’ defense strategy.
