After trials, the Border Security Force ordered 100 Vidhwansaks for use in the border areas.[8] These were supplied by October 2008.[9] The rifle has also been offered to the Indian Army and the National Security Guards.[1][6] However, the Indian Army chose not to bring the Vidhwansak into use as it did not meet the weight requirements.[10]
It is being sold at the cost of Rs 10 lakh (about $20,000) as compared to the Denel NTW-20 AMR, which costs Rs 23 lakhs (about $45,000) as of 2011.[11][6] Due to indigenisation of this weapon, foreign exchange worth over 90 million USD would be saved.[12]
Features
Vidhwansak is a manually operated, rotating bolt-action rifle. The barrel along with the receiver recoil inside the chassis frame against a damping system. The rifle is fed from a detachable box magazine that is inserted from the left side. The rifle can be quickly disassembled and can be carried in two man-portable packs, each weighing about 12 to 15 kg (26 to 33 lb).[6] A muzzle brake is fitted on the end of the barrel which absorbs an estimated 50-60% of recoil. This is further supplemented by a buffered slide in the receiver.
The Vidhwansak is equipped with an 8X magnification, long-eye-relief telescopic sight with parallax adjustment. A 12X ballistic scope can also be attached.[citation needed]
The rifle has an effective range of 1,800 m (5,900 ft) (1,300 m (4,300 ft) for the 20 mm version),[6] while shots can be achieved even up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft). The rifle is magazine fed and reloaded through manual bolt action.[13]
Variants
The Vidhwansak can be easily converted between the three calibers: 12.7 mm, 14.5 mm, and 20 mm, this is done by replacing the barrel, bolt, and magazine, which takes about one minute in the field, without the need for any specialized tools.[6][14]
Specifications
The following are current specifications of the Vidhwansak AMR:[6][14]
