NEW DELHI: The AK-203 assault rifle, set to become the Indian Army’s standard frontline weapon, will be fully indigenous by the end of 2025, Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) CEO and MD Major General SK Sharma said on Thursday.Sharma said 50% of the work on the rifles has already been indigenised, and full localisation will significantly ramp up production and delivery timelines.“If you ask a soldier, then his most reliable friend is an assault rifle… AK-203 will be the most reliable thing in the future. We have received an order of more than 6 lakh rifles from the Indian forces. So far, we have provided them with 48,000 rifles. By the end of this year, we will deliver a total of 70,000 rifles to them,” Maj Gen Sharma told.The assault rifles, a modernised version of the iconic Kalashnikov series, are being produced at IRRPL’s facility in Korwa, Uttar Pradesh, as part of a Rs 5,200 crore deal signed under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.“The delivery of rifles is slow because we are indigenizing them, and 50% indigenisation has been completed so far, which will increase to 100% by the end of the year. Then our rate of production will also increase, and we are planning to deliver all the rifles by the end of 2030, which is two years early as per the contract,” Sharma added.The original deadline for delivery was October 2032, but IRRPL now aims to finish by December 2030 — nearly 22 months ahead of schedule.“Around 48,000 rifles have been delivered so far. Another 7,000 will be handed over in the next two to three weeks and 15,000 additional by December this year,” the IRRPL chief said.“From 2026, the factory will produce 12,000 rifles a month, enabling completion of the order much before the deadline,” he added.The AK-203, also known as ‘Sher’ in India, replaces the older INSAS rifles and will be deployed along the northern and western borders, including the Line of Control and the Line of Actual Control.Initially, 70,000 rifles were imported to meet urgent operational requirements before local manufacturing began.Describing the project as the “younger brother of BrahMos,” Maj Gen Sharma said, “IRRPL has 50.5% Indian shareholding and 49.5% Russian stake. It’s a unique model.”The JV, formed in 2019 under an intergovernmental agreement, brings together Russian partners Rosoboronexport and Kalashnikov Concern with Indian entities AWEIL and MIL.The IRRPL facility spans 8.5 acres and currently employs over 260 staff, including permanent Russian experts. “We plan to expand the workforce to 537, with 90% being locals,” Sharma said.The company has received 100% Transfer of Technology (ToT) from Russia. “All testing is now indigenised. Earlier, parts had to be sent to Russia for validation,” Sharma said.“Every rifle goes through 120 hands,” Sharma said, explaining that each AK-203 has 50 components and 180 sub-parts, and is built to fire up to 15,000 rounds.“Every material now has an alternate source in India,” he added. “We are building one of the finest quality control systems in the country.”Post-indigenisation, the factory will ramp up to produce 600 rifles per day — roughly one rifle every 100 seconds.So far, 60 critical components have been indigenised with vendors across India supplying parts that are then assembled and tested in Korwa.When asked about expanding beyond the AK-203 platform, Sharma said, “Yes, we are expecting to expand, there are efforts in that direction. The intergovernmental agreement was very clear that this company will also produce other parts of the Kalashnikov Concern and AK-203 is just the entry product.”Looking ahead, IRRPL aims to become one of the top five small arms manufacturers in the world by 2032.On exports, Sharma said the company is preparing its first international order. “Exports will target friendly countries,” he said.“Nothing will affect the vendors irrespective of embargoes,” he added.Reflecting on the long-standing defence partnership between the two nations, Sharma said, “Indo-Russian relationship goes very deep. We’re strategic partners and this factory is just a feather in the cap.”“Russia has always been there when we needed them. Every Indian Army officer can swear by the fact that once in their lifetime they’ve used Russian military products and they’re very reliable,” he said.“IRRPL is a niche project and it is important, with immense opportunities,” he added.“Frontline rifle will be AK-203,” he said, reiterating that production speed will “increase dramatically” from 2026 onwards.Separately, India successfully conducted flight tests of two short-range ballistic missiles, Prithvi-II and Agni-I, from Odisha’s Chandipur range under the Strategic Forces Command.“These launches validated all operational and technical parameters,” the Ministry of Defence said.
