New Delhi, Oct 15 : The Ministry of Defence on Wednesday signed a deal worth Rs 659.47 crore for the procurement of night sight (image intensifier) for 7.62 x 51mm assault rifles, along with accessories, for the Indian Army with the consortium of M/s MKU Ltd and M/s Medbit Technologies Pvt Ltd, an official statement said.

The night sight will enable soldiers to fully exploit the longer effective range of the SIG 716 Assault Rifle, according to the statement.

These sights are capable of engaging targets up to an effective range of 500 metres, even under starlit conditions and provide a significant improvement over the existing passive night sights (PNS). This procurement with more than 51 per cent indigenous content is a major step towards Aatmanirbharta in defence manufacturing. The initiative will also benefit the MSMEs involved in the manufacturing of components and the supply of raw material, the statement said.

India's defence production has surged to an all-time high of Rs 1.46 lakh crore, with exports increasing to a record Rs 24,000 crore in 2024-25, official figures show.

"Our defence production, which was only Rs 43,000 crore 10 to 11 years ago, has now crossed a record figure of Rs 1,46,000 crore, with the private sector's contribution of over Rs 32,000 crore. Our defence exports, which were around Rs 600-700 crore 10 years ago, have surpassed a record figure of Rs 24,000 crore," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said recently.

He described Make-in-India as crucial for security and prosperity, stating that the use of indigenous systems during Operation Sindoor has proved that India has the power to penetrate any armour of the enemy.

Earlier this month, Rajnath Singh inaugurated a national-level conference on 'Opportunities in Defence Manufacturing in the Country' at Vigyan Bhawan here.

The conference, organised under the aegis of the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, provided a focused platform to strengthen coordination between the Ministry and the governments of all the states and Union Territories, with the objective of aligning regional industrial policies and infrastructure development with the national goal of achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing.

/IANS