#AK-203

Back in January 2023, Russia’s Rosoboronexport announced that the first batch of India’s AK-203s had been completed. The rifles are being procured under India’s Make in India scheme with a joint venture, named Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL), which is a partnership between India’s Advanced Weapons & Equipment India Limited (AWEIL) and Munitions India Limited (MIL) and Rostec subsidiaries Kalashnikov and Rosoboronexport of Russia. This will see production of the rifles shift from Russia to India and Kalashnikov Concern have announced the shipment of machinery and tools to allow India to establish production in Korwa.

The India-Russia joint venture to produce AK-203 assault rifles for the Indian Armed Forces has produced the first batch of rifles for the Indian Army. This was announced by  Rosoboronexport on January 17. The Indian Army has a requirement for about 671,000 rifles.

Last week Indian media outlets began reporting that an order for as many as 70,000 AK-pattern rifles had been made from Russia’s Kalashnikov Concern. Speculation surrounded the news and many wondered how the order would fit into the larger deal being negotiated between India and Russia for a production license to manufacture an AK-203 variant in India.

India and Russia media reports suggest that the deal for India to procure and produce the AK-203 rifle has been agreed upon. The deal will provide the Indian Armed Forces with a much needed new service rifle.

For years we at TFB have closely followed India’s struggles to select a new service rifle to replace the 5.56x45mm INSAS which has gained a questionable reputation over the years. Numerous home-grown rifles such as the Indian Ordnance Factories Board-designed Excalibur and the Multi Calibre Individual Weapon System have both proven to be failures. A glimmer of hope arrived when the Indian government made a concerted effort to procure new small arms launching a flurry of requests for information seeking a range of rifles in 7.62x39mm, 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm. At the same time, India have also procured .50 calibre anti-materiel rifles and .338 LM precision rifles in significant numbers.

News Agencies from both India and Russia have confirmed that India will adopt the 7.62x39mm AK-203, with production to be established at a plant in India. Production of as many as 750,000 rifles is planned. In recent weeks we’ve seen a lot of progress in India’s struggle to modernise its Army’s small arms. Not only have India recently confirmed a deal with SIG Sauer for over 70,000 7.62x51mm SIG716s but they have also purchased 6,000 sniper rifle from Barrett and Beretta. They are also reported to be nearing a deal for 95,000 5.56 Carbines from Caracal.

Russia’s Rosoboronexport, which is part of the Rostec State Corporation, is launching a Global marketing campaign to promote their new AK200 series manufactured by the Kalashnikov Concern.

Modern Firearms website has published a new article telling about the official release of the 200-series of AK rifles. These rifles represent the next generation and evolution of the 100-series of AKs. In fact, they’ve been around for about a year but didn’t have the 200-series model designation.