In an interview with National Defense magazine, Indian Ambassador to Russia Datla Bala Venkatesh Varma mentioned this. In the following year and a half, A-203 production will be localised entirely in the Indian city of Korwa.
In addition, the Indians intend to obtain all of the materials required for production in India.
Although talks in this direction began in 2018 when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced them, there have been arguments about the price of granting authorisation for a more modern version of the indestructible “Kalashnikov” to be built in India since then.
70,000 AK-203 rifles meant for the Indian Army will come to India from Russia in November this year, till Indian production begins.
According to a report by The Print, citing insiders in the Indian defence sector, India and Russia recently reached an agreement on the urgent procurement of 70,000 new AK 203 rifles with a calibre of 7.62 39 mm.
The Russian AK-203 is intended to replace the Indian INSAS assault rifle, which has been in service since 1998 but no longer fits the Army’s needs.
The military, navy, and air force have all deployed the 5.56 mm Indian firearm, criticised for its small calibre.
According to Top War, an Indian army source commented on the switch to 7.62 mm calibre: “If you shoot at the adversary, he must be killed, not temporarily disabled.”
The Indian ground troops already have 70,000 SIG716 7.62 51 calibre rifles developed between Germany and the United States. India purchased this rifle through a particular expedited procedure, and there are no plans to replace it entirely with the AK-203 at this time.
The Russian and Indian governments and Russian and Indian corporations appear to have found a “shared language” this month when it comes to manufacturing in India.
According to the Print, Indo-Russia Rifles, a joint venture between the Indian OFB, the Kalashnikov business, and Rosobor on export, Russia’s official military export agency, will commence production of 600,000 of these rifles in India soon.
According to the Russian business, its weapons have been tested in all types of weather.
The new gun is versatile and adaptable, thanks to its universal basic design, which makes it simple to attach numerous extras, depending on the task at hand: night and day sights, handles, lamps, and lasers.
