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Indo-Russia Rifles

Coordinates: 26°12′44″N 81°49′22″E / 26.21222°N 81.82278°E / 26.21222; 81.82278
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Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited
IndustryDefence
Founded2019; 5 years ago (2019)
Headquarters
Korwa, Amethi
,
India
Key people
Major General SK Sharma, SM**, VSM (CEO&MD)
ProductsAK-203
Owners
Websitehttps://irrpl.co.in/

Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) is a rifle-manufacturing facility in Korwa, Amethi district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Founded in 2019, the factory manufactures the AK-200 variant of the Kalashnikov family of rifles.

History

[edit]

The Indian armed forces had been equipped with a locally produced licensed copy[1] of the L1A1 self-loading rifles from the late 1950s.[2] In the mid-1980s, a decision was taken to develop a 5.56×45mm NATO calibre rifle to replace the obsolete rifles. Trials on various prototypes based on the AKM were carried out by the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) in Pune. On the completion of the trial, The Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) was adopted in 1990, becoming the standard-issue assault rifle of the Indian infantry. However, to phase out the still in use bolt-action Lee–Enfield rifles as quickly as possible, India had to acquire 100,000 7.62×39mm AKM-type rifles from Russia, Hungary, Romania and Israel in 1990–92.[3]

The INSAS was initially built with features borrowed from several different rifles and was not made to meet the specific requirements of the Indian security forces. This design, while serving the Army for over 30 years, started to fall behind the needs of modern warfare.[4] In recent years the rifle has come under increasing scrutiny, with several issues surfacing from frontline forces that have inhibited operational capabilities. For example, the plastic magazine of the rifle has repeatedly cracked under cold weather conditions and has reportedly even overheated during long battles leading to malfunctions, making it an unreliable choice for a standard-issue rifle.[5]

Due to these repeated downfalls, In April 2015, the Indian government had to replace some INSAS rifles of the CRPF with AKM variants to ensure greater success in the CRPF's fight against Naxalites.[6] Therefore, owing to these failures and the changing needs of the armed forces, it was announced in early 2017 that the INSAS rifles would be retired and replaced by a weapon capable of firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges.[7]

As part of the replacement process, the new Kalashnikov rifle is being made in a joint venture production facility located in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.[8] The factory manufactures the AK-203 variant of the Kalashnikov family of rifles, which along with the SIG716, manufactured by United States-based SIG Sauer will replace the INSAS rifles as well as various AK-47s.[9] The first batch of 10,000 SIG Sauer rifles were delivered in December 2019.[10]

Product

[edit]

The IRRPL has been licensed to produce 600000 AK-203 assault rifles chambered for 7.62×39mm. The AK-203 is a modernized 200 series AK-103 variant and one of the modern derivatives of the Russian AK-Pattern series of assault rifles. The 200 series are technically based on the AK-100 family and the more expensive AK-12 rifle family.[11] The AK-203 is reported as the newest version of the AK-47 assault rifle.[12]

During the Defence Expo 2020 in Lucknow, Major General Sengar announced that the IRRPL facility in Amethi would produce 75,000 AK-203 annually for 10 years.[13]

It was announced that 670,000 AK-203 rifles will be produced for the Indian military.[14] Production of the AK-203 started on 17 January 2023.[15][16]

In May 2024, first batch of 27,000 rifles were delivered while another batch of 8,000 would be delivered "soon". The level of indigenous content achieved is 25%.[17] In July 2024, the expected 8,000 units were delivered.[18]

Ownership

[edit]

The factory is a joint venture between three companies. As of 2023, AWEIL owns the controlling stakes at 42.5% with Munitions India Limited at a 8%, Kalashnikov Concern at 42% and Rosoboronexport at 7.5%.[19]

An Indian CEO from the Indian Army leads the company.[20] Major General SK Sharma, SM**, VSM was selected as the CEO & MD on 6 August 2023.

Leaders

[edit]
  • Major General Sanjeev Sengar (2019-2023).[21]
  • Major General Yashwant Singh, SM**, VSM (Aug 2023 onwards)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "UK and Commonwealth FALs, by R. Blake Stevens, Collector Grade Publications, 1980, pages 231–233
  2. ^ Charles Q. Cutshaw (28 February 2011). Tactical Small Arms of the 21st Century: A Complete Guide to Small Arms From Around the World. Gun Digest Books. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-4402-2482-9. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  3. ^ John Walter (25 March 2006). Rifles of the World. Krause Publications. pp. 209–210. ISBN 0-89689-241-7. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  4. ^ Datta, Saikat (4 July 2017). "Why is the Indian Army still using outdated assault rifles designed in the 1980s?". Scroll.in. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  5. ^ Beckhusen, Robert (31 August 2016). "India's Anti-Terror Troops Despise Their Assault Rifle". Medium. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  6. ^ "AK-47s to arm CRPF to teeth". Daily Pioneer. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  7. ^ "INSAS rifles to retire; to be replaced by imported weapons". The Economic Times. 5 March 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  8. ^ "In Amethi, PM Modi To Dedicate A Firm For Manufacturing AK Assault Rifles". NDTV. ANI. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  9. ^ Shukla, Ajai. "PM Modi inaugurates India-Russia JV to build Kalashnikov rifles in Amethi". Business Standard. No. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  10. ^ Negi, Manjeet Singh (11 December 2019). "Indian Army received first batch American assault rifles for operations in Jammu and Kashmir". India Today. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  11. ^ "200 series Kalashnikov assault rifle: AK-200, AK-201, AK-202, AK-203, AK-204, AK-205 (Russia)". modernfirearms.net. 7 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Explained: The new AK-203, and its legendary ancestor, the AK-47". The Indian Express. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  13. ^ "AK-203 to become organic assault rifle of Indian armed forces". 14 February 2020.
  14. ^ Philip, Snehesh Alex (31 August 2020). "India and Russia set to close deal for over 6 lakh AK 203 rifles, full scale production has already started since August 2023". ThePrint. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  15. ^ Nagial, Colonel Balwan Singh. "AK-203 Kalashnikov Assault Rifles to be manufactured in India". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  16. ^ "India launches production of Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles | Defense News January 2023 Global Security army industry | Defense Security global news industry army year 2023 | Archive News year". 18 January 2023.
  17. ^ Peri, Dinakar (19 May 2024). "Indo-Russian joint venture handed over 27,000 Ak-203 assault rifles to Indian Army". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  18. ^ Philip, Snehesh Alex (5 July 2024). "Ahead of Modi's visit to Moscow, Indo-Russia venture delivers 33K AK-203 rifles to Army". ThePrint. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  19. ^ https://www.ddpmod.gov.in/sites/default/files/vacancy%20circular.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  20. ^ Philip, Snehesh Alex (3 March 2019). "PM Modi inaugurates Indo-Russian joint venture, which will end Army's long quest for rifles". The Print. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  21. ^ Philip, Snehesh Alex (5 July 2019). "Army chief's new experiment — Major General is CEO of AK-203 rifle factory in Amethi". ThePrint. Retrieved 12 January 2020.

26°12′44″N 81°49′22″E / 26.21222°N 81.82278°E / 26.21222; 81.82278

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