The Royal Nepal Army didn't buy the G-36 after all. The army was close to closing the controversial deal for the highly sophisticated German rifles manufactured by Heckler and Koch in late May. But a faction within the army felt that the high tech HK rifles that come equipped with built-in telescopic sight were not best-suited to Nepali conditions. The top brass has changed its mind and now wants to follow more transparent procurement procedures. It has already written to pre-selected arms dealers asking them to submit fresh bids to help it upgrade its arsenal. The plan is to buy 50,000 new assault rifles over the next five years. The G-36, US-made M16s used by Nepal's army on peacekeeping missions abroad, and Israeli Galil were some frontrunners in the earlier process. Suppliers had also proposed Belgian, Korean, Indian and Singaporean models.