New Delhi: The long wait to upgrade and modernize Indian Army's firepower for the infantry troops shall come to an end soon as the AK-203 rifles are all set to replace the legendary AK-47 rifles as part of the nation's military arsenal. India inked a deal with a Russian firm to manufacture 750,000 of these assault rifles which would be given to the Army's infantry troops.

India has once again gone back to their traditional defence ally Russia to seek cooperation in manufacturing of the state of art assault rifle.The Indo-Russian joint to manufacture comes at the back of a multi-million dollar agreement signed by the Army to buy 7.69mm 59 calibre advanced assault rifles.

The AK 203 considered to be an improvised version of the AK-47 is set to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of  firepower for infantry soldiers who form the first line of defence for the country at the line of Control and the international border. With the terror outfits being funded and equipped with , the AK 203 will hold our infantry soldier in good stead while guarding the frontiers of the country against

"The new joint venture will manufacture world-famous Kalashnikov assault rifles of the newest 200 series and eventually will reach full localisation of production. Thus, the Indian defence-industrial sector will have the opportunity to fulfil the needs of national security agencies in this category of small arms, resting upon advanced Russian technologies," Putin said in his message.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message on Sunday on the AK-203 assault rifles which was read out by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during an event of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.

Here is all you need to know about the AK-203  rifle

  • The AK-203 is a full-size rifle chambered in 7.62x39mm and can fire in two modes - semi-automatic and fully automatic.

  • The rifle comes in two sizes - full-size and compact/ carbine. Its full-size length is 940 mm and with stock folded it is 705 mm long.

  • It is a gas operated, rotary bolt locking rifle and can fire 600 rounds in one minute (10 rounds per second). The barrel length is 415 mm and the weight with an empty magazine is 4.1 kilogramme. The magazine can hold 30 bullets.

  • The rifle has Krebs style safety selector levers and is equipped with a Picatinny rail section on the top cover to mount a laser sight.

  • These rifles have a new muzzle device which is an effective flash hider while the barrel is rugged enough to carry an under barrel grenade launcher. The barrel can also carry a bayonet for close quarter and hand-to-hand combat.


The AK-47 rifle was designed by the legendary Russian Army officer Lieutenant General Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov whose 100th birth anniversary falls on November 10, 1919.