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The Indian Army has placed a ₹2,770 crore order for 4.25 lakh Close-Quarter Battle (CQB) carbines. Bharat Forge is the key supplier chosen to manufacture these next-gen weapons. The stock gaines
CQB is a compact rifle built for short-range, fast-action combat.
The deets: The contract covers design-matched, compact 5.56×45 mm carbines built to strict Army specifications. These weapons are light, modular, and ideal for close combat and counter-insurgency missions.
Production will be carried out locally, with deliveries expected to begin within a year under the Buy (Indian) procurement route that favours indigenous manufacture.
Why it matters: this order upgrades soldier kit for mobility, reaction time, and reliability in cramped battlefields. It also gives a huge fillip to domestic defence manufacturing, putting firms like Bharat Forge squarely into strategic supply chains and creating local jobs and capabilities.
Zoom out: Bharat Forge has been winning steady orders from the Indian Army and defence PSUs, ranging from ATAGS howitzers to armoured platforms and now carbines, marking its shift from a parts supplier to a full-fledged defence OEM.
The company’s defence arm, Kalyani Strategic Systems, has also signed export deals for artillery and protected vehicles, putting Bharat Forge on the global map. Backed by the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat push, the company is helping shape India’s self-reliant defence ecosystem.
