Indian Army Gets AK-203 Rifles:
The Indian Army has received the first batch of 27,000 units of Russian AK-203 assault rifles.
- Under a contract signed between India and Russia in July 2021, over 6.1 lakh AK-203 assault rifles are to be manufactured in India with technology transfer from Russia.
- The joint venture Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) was established at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh in 2019 for this purpose.
- It was set up between the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board [now Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL) and Munitions India Limited (MIL)] from India and Rosoboronexport (RoE) and Kalashnikov concern of Russia.
- India is progressively making the AK-203 rifles within the country, aiming to reach 70% domestic content in just 2 years.
- Currently, around 25% of the rifle’s parts are manufactured locally.
- The full-scale production with 100% localisation of rifles is expected to be reached within 2-3 years.
- The Indian Army has been phasing out the INSAS (Indian National Small Arms System) rifles in favour of more advanced weaponry.
