AK-203: Indian Army’s long wait for most modern assault rifle ends

New Delhi, Dec 06: The Defence Ministry signed a contract with the Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt. Ltd. a Joint Venture between India and Russia for the indigenous production of 6.01 Lakh AK-203 Assault Rifles at Korwa, Uttar Pradesh.

The contract was signed after the talks between defence delegations of India and Russia. The Indian side was led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh while General Sergey Shoigu headed the Russian side.

The contract ends the long quest of Indian Army to replace aeging INSAS Rifle with a modern weapon.

AK-203 Rifles are 7.62 X 39mm caliber with an effective range of 300 meters is a light weight and easy to use Modern Assault Rifle with proven technology that will enhance the combat potential of soldiers to adequately meet present and future operational challenges.

The agreement signed between the two sides envisages production of 6,01,247 AK-203 Assault rifles by the joint venture Indo-Russian Rifles Pvt Ltd (IRRPL), the Defence Ministry said.

The partners in the JV from the Indian side comprise of erstwhile Ordnances Factory Board, with 50.5 per cent share capital [now Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL) owning share capital of 42.5 per cent and Munitions India Limited (MIL) owning share capital of 8 per cent.

From the Russian side Rosoboronexport (RoE) & Concern Kalashnikov of Russia hold 49.5 per cent share capital in the IRRPL JV.

The Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) signed between India and RussianFederation in Feb 2018 paved the way for overcoming the capability gap in the sphere of Assault Rifles by making Kalashnikov series of rifles in India. AK-203 Assault Rifles tremendously augment the operational capability of Indian soldiers.

The factory located in Korwa, Distt-Amethi expands the production capacities of factory at Korwa and boosts the manufacturing eco system in UP Defence Corridor. Local employment opportunities and economic growth will see an upswing.

AK-203 one of the latest weapons in the iconic Kalashnikov series is an extremely reliable weapon with reduced flash & recoil, better ergonomics and other modern features. This weapon boosts confidence and morale of soldiers and enables them to tackle multiple operational challenges in conventional and sub-conventional domains.

The contract envisages complete transfer of technology to IRRPL by Kalashnikov in manufacture of first 70,000 weapons. The rest 5.31 lakh weapons thereafter will be completely indigenous realising the Government's vision of Make in India and expanding defence exports. The entire lot of 6.01 rifles will be produced in 10 years. The security agencies under MHA too are eagerly looking forward to supplement their inventory with AK-203. The contract for production of 6.01 Lakh weapons in India is incomparable in magnitude with any such arrangement in the recent past and certainly a win-win deal for Indian Armed Forces.