Indian Army Assault Rifles: Following consecutive delays in the agreement with Russia, partially because of the conflict in Ukraine and payment arrears, the Indian Army has begun receiving Russian AK-203 assault rifles. According to government sources, the Indo-Russian joint venture based in Korwa, Uttar Pradesh, has so far given the Army up to 27,000 guns.
After some initial setbacks, everything is proceeding as planned, and the Army has received 27,000 firearms. In the next two weeks, an additional 8,000 will be distributed. The degree of indigenization attained is about 25%, according to an informed official.
More than 10,000 guns have reportedly been given to Units, and more are reportedly being examined, according to a source.
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According to The Hindu, a joint company called Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) is tasked with manufacturing over 6.1 lakh AK-203 assault rifles in India through technology transfer from Russia, as per a contract for over ₹5,000 crore inked in July 2021. In 2019, the IRRPL was established as a joint venture between the Russian Kalashnikov company and Rosoboronexport (RoE) and the Indian entities of Ordnance Factory Board (now Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL) and Munitions India Limited (MIL).
According to the conditions of the contract, the first 70,000 rifles will be made in India, with the degree of localization increasing gradually from 5% to 70%, as previously reported by The Hindu. 100% localization will be used in the production of the remaining firearms. It is anticipated that the Ak-203 rifles will be produced on a large scale in two to three years.
Organised approach
The insider said that the continuing indigenization process was being carried out in a “very systematic manner.” Thus, the procedure will be sluggish. According to the source, even the first timeframes we had planned for this process of 70% indigenous material took two years, but we are hoping to do it sooner.
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As previously mentioned, India had acquired and taken delivery of 70,000 Ak-103 assault rifles off the shelf as part of an agreement made in August 2021, despite the agreement’s continuous delays in being finalized.
The Army has been gradually replacing the currently in-use Indian National Small Arms System (INSAS) rifles with newer rifles. Frontline troops engaged in counter-insurgency operations are using 66,400 of the 72,400 SIG-716 assault rifles that the Army purchased from Sig Sauer of the United States in February 2019 for 700 crore. The Ak-203 weapons were to meet the increased demand for assault rifles. Unfortunately, the pricing dispute stalled the deal’s completion, therefore, the Army opted to place a repeat order for an additional 72,400 SIG-716 rifles.
