Moscow: India and Russia, during the visit of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, have finalized a major agreement to build the state-of-the-art AK-203 Rifle in India. Official Russian media gave this information on Thursday.
The AK-203 rifle is the latest and most advanced format of the AK-47 Rifle. It will replace the Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) 5.56 × 45 mm rifle. According to Russian government news agency Sputnik, the Indian Army needs about 770,000 AK-203 rifles, of which one lakh will be imported and the rest will be manufactured in India.
These rifles will be made in India under the joint venture Indo-Russian Rifle Private Limited (IRRPL), according to news from the Russian news agency. It is established between the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and the Kalashnikov Concern and Rosoborenexport.
OFB will have a 50.5 percent stake in IRRL, while Kalashnikov will have a 42 percent stake. Russia’s state export agency Rosoborenexport will hold the remaining 7.5 percent. According to the news, this 7.62 x 39 mm Russian weapon will be produced at Korva Ordnance Factory in Uttar Pradesh, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Narendra Modi) last year.
The news is expected to cost around $ 1,100 per rifle, including technology transfer costs and the establishment of a manufacturing unit. According to Sputnik, INSAS rifles have been used since 1996. There are problems like jamming in it, problems in the magazine at the higher places on the Himalayan mountains.
