A senior Russian official said that production of Russia's new Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles in India could begin before the end of the year, PTI reported. The rifles will be manufactured by an Indo-Russian joint venture at a plant in Korwa in Uttar Pradesh.
The Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited was set up in 2019 to produce the Russian-origin Kalashnikov assault rifles.
"We plan 100 pert cent localisation of the production of the legendary Russian assault rifles in India," said Alexander Mikheev, Director General, Rosoboronexport, the Russian state agency for international arms trade.
The AK-203 is part of Kalashnikov's 'Series 200' of small arms, which includes several models with popular round calibres and barrel lengths. The series includes tuning features such as adjustable stocks and the Picatinny rail, as well as other enhancements. The 7.62x39mm round is used in the AK-203 assault rifle, news agency IANS reported.
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"By the end of 2022, the Korwa Ordnance Factory will be ready to begin producing Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles. Our plans include completely localising the manufacture of legendary Russian assault rifles in India. Furthermore, the joint venture may increase production and modernise manufacturing facilities in the future to manufacture advanced rifles based on the Kalashnikov assault rifle platform," PTI quoted Mikheev as saying.
"In the future, the joint enterprise may ramp up capacity and upgrade to manufacture more advanced models based on the Kalashnikov platform," he further said.
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Rosoboronexport will attend the DefExpo in Gandhinagar that is taking place from October 18 to 22.
"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," the company said in a statement.
Russia and India have been collaborating closely in defence for decades and have previously launched other joint ventures for manufacturing arms in India.
"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," Mikheev told RT.
(With Inpust From Agencies)