In PHOTOS: Meet F-INSAS, India's Future Infantry Soldier

The F-INSAS aims to transform the Indian soldiers deployed in the border areas into 'a self-contained fighting machine'. It has been envisaged for a fully networked all-terrain, all-weather personal-equipment platform with better firepower and mobility for the digitised battleground.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday handed over Future Infantry Soldier As A System (F-INSAS) to the Indian Army at an event organised by the Military Engineering Service in the national capital. 

As part of the Infantry Vision 2020, the F-INSAS project was conceived in April 2005 to equip the infantry soldiers with state-of-art weaponry, a communication network and instant access to information on the battlefield.

It has been envisaged for a fully networked all-terrain, an all-weather personal-equipment platform with better firepower and mobility for the digitised battleground.

As per the plan, it was to be implemented in three phases with an aim to transform the soldiers deployed in the border areas into 'a self-contained fighting machine'.

At the event, an F-INSAS soldier briefed the defence minister and Indian Army chief Gen Manoj Pande about the new weapon system and aids, including the AK-203 assault rifle. 

It is pertinent to mention here that the assault rifle AK-203 has been planned to be manufactured in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi in a joint venture between Indian and Russian entities.

On the occasion, Rajnath Singh also handed over several Make-in-India weaponry systems to the land force, including anti-personnel land mine Nipun, landing craft attack for operations in Pangong lake, and infantry combat vehicles, among others.