A delegation from Rosoboronexport, a subsidiary of the Rostec State Corporation, is taking part in Defexpo India 2022, the Land, Naval and State Security Systems Exhibition, which will be held from October 18 to 22 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The company participates in the exhibition as a co-founder of Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited, a Russian-Indian joint venture established to produce Kalashnikov assault rifles in India. During the exhibition, Rosoboronexport will discuss with the Indian side the production and supply of AK-203 for the armed forces and other law enforcement agencies of the country. In addition, the company will present a wide range of additional modern equipment designed both for customizing the assault rifle itself and for equipping personnel.
“Rosoboronexport has the world’s largest portfolio of completed, on-going and future defense production projects in India. The joint venture Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited, in which Rosoboronexport and the Kalashnikov Concern participate from the Russian side, is fully in line with the Government’s Make in India initiative and Defense Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 rules. The Korwa Ordnance Factory is ready to start manufacturing Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles by the end of 2022. Our plans include 100% localization of the production of legendary Russian assault rifles in India. In addition, in the future, the joint venture may increase production and modernize production facilities to manufacture advanced rifles based on the Kalashnikov assault rifle platform,” said Rosoboronexport Director General Alexander Mikheev.
Kalashnikov A-200-series assault rifles are in line with all current trends in small arms technology. The AK-100 family is a series of Kalashnikov rifles, based upon the AK-74M, intended for export sales. The family of rifles offers the AK-74M system, in multiple cartridges and lengths. The development of the AK-200 rifle family was stopped around 2011 but resumed around 2016. On 3 March 2019, Russia and India inaugurated Indo-Russia Rifles in Uttar Pradesh, India to produce AK-203 assault rifles. However, no contract had been signed then or rifles produced because of pricing disagreements. India signed a contract in August 2021 to directly import 70,000 AK-203 rifles from Russia. Russia and India on December 6, 2021, finally signed a contract on the delivery of over 600,000 7.62mm AK-203 assault rifles that will be produced on India’s soil to the republic’s Defense Ministry.
These assault rifles have retained all the advantages of the traditional AK pattern: reliability, durability and ease of maintenance. They are fitted with integral Picatinny rails for convenient and easy mounting of sights and tactical accessories, enabling the effective use of weapons in various conditions. The rifles have a folding stock. In addition, a number of other ergonomic solutions have been incorporated into them to optimize operation. In particular, they feature a redesigned fire selector and a modified receiver cover. This gives the users the opportunity to fully realize their shooting skills, regardless of their anthropometric data and the availability of a variety of personal gear, outfit and uniforms.
