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Production of AK-203 assault rifles to begin by year-end: Russian official


Over 6.1 lakh AK-203 assault rifles to be manufactured in India with technology transfer from Russia

According to a senior Russian official, the Indo-Russian joint venture at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh will start manufacturing AK-203 assault rifles by the end of 2022.

“Korva Ordnance Factory is ready to start manufacturing Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles by the end of 2022. Our plans include 100% localization of production of the famous Russian assault rifles in India,” said Alexander Mikheev, Director General of Rosoboronexport. "In addition, in the future, the joint venture may increase production and modernize production facilities for the manufacture of advanced rifles based on the Kalashnikov assault rifle platform."

Production which was originally scheduled to start earlier this year has been delayed slightly due to the war in Ukraine.

Under a contract worth over Rs 5,000 crore, over 6.1 lakh AK-203 assault rifles will be manufactured in India with technology transfer from Russia.

During the exhibition, Rosoboronexport will discuss with the Indian side the production and supply of AK-203s to the armed forces and other law enforcement agencies of the country, Kalashnikov said in a statement.

A delegation from Rosoboronexport, a subsidiary of Rostec State Corporation, is participating in the DefExpo-2022 as co-founder of Indo-Russian Rifles Pvt Ltd (IRRPL), an Indo-Russian joint established for the production of AK-203 assault rifles is enterprise. in India.

IRRPL was established in 2019 jointly between the erstwhile OFB [now Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited and Munitions India Limited of India] and Rosoboronexport and Kalashnikov of Concern Russia.

On the AK-203 rifles, Kalashnikov said that they retained all the advantages of the traditional AK series - reliability, durability and ease of maintenance. The Kalashnikov A-200-series assault rifles are equipped with integral Picatinny rails for convenient and easy mounting and tactical accessories for effective use of weapons in various conditions. Notably, they feature a redesigned fire selector and a modified receiver cover.

As previously reported by The Hindu, full scale production of the rifles is expected to reach within 2-3 years. As per the terms of the contract, the first 70,000 AK-203 rifles will be produced in India with a phased increase in the range of localization from 5% to 70%. The remaining rifles will be produced with 100% localization.

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