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| India Starts Production of Advanced Version of AK-203 Assault Rifle Pride of Russia |
New Delhi - Production of the Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifle in India may be launched before the end of the year. The weapon is an advanced version of the pride of Russia's rifle. The news was revealed by Aleksandr Mikheev, head of Rosoboronexport, Russia's state agency for the international arms trade.
"The weapon will be manufactured at a factory in the city of Korwa in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh," said Aleksandr Mikheev. "We are planning 100% localization of production of the legendary Russian assault rifle in India," said the head of the agency on Monday (17/10/2022).
He added, “In the future, the joint venture could increase capacity and increase production of more sophisticated models based on the Kalashnikov platform.” New Delhi and Moscow made a joint venture in December last year, increasing direct arms sales to India.
"The contract, which is estimated to be worth around $620 million, involved the production of more than 600,000 AK-203s on Indian soil," the Hindustan Times newspaper wrote at the time. The AK-203 is part of the Kalashnikov's “200 series” of small arms, which includes several models using a variety of popular long-barreled and round calibers.
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| Russian AK-203 Kalashnikov Assault Rifle soon to be produced in India |
The series features tuning options such as adjustable stock and Picatinny rails and other enhancements. The AK-203 assault rifle is designed for 7.62x39 mm rounds. Rosoboronexport provided an update on the joint venture with India ahead of the Defexpo India 2022 arms show, scheduled for this week. Russia and India have worked closely on defense for decades and have previously launched other joint ventures to manufacture weapons in India.