NEW DELHI: The much awaited fully indigenous version of the AK-203 assault rifle will be out by December and will be christened 'Sher' (Lion). The contract for over six lakh AK-203 rifles was signed in 2021.
As per the contract, the Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) has to deliver all the rifles by December 2032. So far, the company has supplied around 48,000 to the Indian Army, with 50 per cent indigenous content.
IRRPL CEO and MD Major General SK Sharma on Thursday said, "We will deliver the first 100 per cent indigenised AK-203 rifle on December 31, 2025."
Another batch of 70,000 rifles will be supplied in the next five months, he said, adding that they will have 70 percent indigenous content.
"The IRRPL will supply all the rifles by mid 2030, 22 months earlier than the scheduled delivery," he added.
As reported earlier by The New Indian Express, the AK-203 rifles would replace the ageing Indian Small Arms System (INSAS). A contract for procurement of 6,01,427 AK-203 rifles, worth Rs 5,200 crore, was signed in December 2021 between the Ministry of Defence and IRRPL -- a joint venture between India, represented by the Defence PSUs-Advanced Weapons & Equipment India Limited (AWEIL) and Munitions India Limited (MIL), and Russia, represented by Rosoboronexport (RoE) & Concern Kalashnikov (CK), holding a stake of 50.5% and 49.5% respectively.
India is the first country to produce the AK-200-series assault rifles which, as per the company, have retained all the advantages of the traditional AK scheme, including reliability, durability and ease of maintenance.
General Sharma said several countries from Southeast Asia and Africa have shown interest to procure these rifles from India. In addition, 18 states and Union territories as well as paramilitary forces have also sought these rifles.
Going by the scale of production, IRRPL will be producing the rifles in bulk numbers of 1.5 lakh from next year. Of these, around 1.2 lakh will be given to the Army and the remaining 30,000 would be kept for the paramilitary, state police and also for export to friendly foreign countries.
The rifle weighs 3.8 kg (without magazine) and is lighter than its predecessor AK-47, which weighs approximately 4.3 kg.
Features like telescopic buttstocks, improved recoil control, and compatibility with modern optics, make the AK-203 well-suited for current battlefield conditions.
It will be the standard weapon of the Indian Army's infantry wing.
