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Indo-Russia Rifles
Rifle factory in Uttar Pradesh, India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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History
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The Indian Armed Forces had been equipped with a locally produced licensed copy of the L1A1 self-loading rifles from the late 1950s.[1][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 against the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency.[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 configured for 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges.[7]
In 2019, India and Russia signed a Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA). On 3 March the same year, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi inaugurated Indo-Russia Rifles in Korwa, Uttar Pradesh.[8] The Joint Venture (JV), tasked for the production of AK-200 rifle family, included partnership among India's Ordnance Factory Board and Russia's Rosoboronexport and Kalashnikov Concern under the parentship of Rostec. By then, the production of 750,000 rifles was approved.[9]
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Product and deliveries
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AK-203
Contract
As of February 2020, the production, which was originally expected to commence in May that year, was delayed initially to 2020-end due to pricing disagreements. One of the objectives of the project was for India to have 100% indigenisation on the production of the rifles. However, this meant that initially, the domestically produced rifles would be 20–25% costlier than those imported from Russia. The production of rifles would begin only after the JV submits a "competitive" commercial bid.[10] Later, due to the travel bans during COVID-19 pandemic, negotiations were further delayed and a fresh bid could not be submitted which meant the production would not begin in 2020.[11]
In December 2021, India signed a ₹5,124 crore (equivalent to ₹57 billion or US$680 million in 2023)-worth contract[12] with Kalashnikov Concern for the procurement of 601,427 rifles from IRRPL.[13][14] For the first batch of 70,000 rifles to be manufactured, the indigenous content would rise from 5% to 70%, while the remaining rifles would have 100% indigenous content. The full-scale production could be reached in 2–3 years.[15]Deliveries
The production of the rifles in India began in January 2023.[16][12] On 3 February 2023, Alexander Mikheev, director general of Rosoboronexport, announced that the first batch of AK-203s were completed at Amethi.[17] On 12 October 2023, it was reported that Kalashnikov Concern completed shipment of machinery and tools for India to manufacture AK-203s.[18]
On 5 July 2024, Rostec announced that Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt. Ltd. (IRRPL) had delivered 35,000 rifles to the Indian Army.[19][20] As of then, the rifles had an indigenous content of 25%. The deliveries were completed in batches of 27,000 rifles on 20 May and 8,000 rifles on 5 July.[15][21]
As of February 2025, IRRPL expects to deliver 70,000 and 100,000 rifles to the Army in 2025 and 2026, respectively.[22]
As of 17 July 2025, IRRPL 48,000 rifles were delivered to the Indian Army with an additional batch of 7,000 units to be delivered within the next 2–3 weeks. Meanwhile, the Indian produced rifles has achieved an indigenous content of 50% while the 100% of the same is expected to be achieved by this year's end. Another batch of 15,000 rifles are to be delivered in December 2025. Following the complete indigenisation, the production rate will rise to 12,000 units monthly with 1,05,000 units annually. The order would be executed by October end of the original deadline of December 2032. By now the Indian Army has started phasing out the standard issue INSAS rifles.[23][24]
Further, the Indian manufacturing facility currently employs 260 personnel, including permanent Russian experts, which is planned to be expanded to 537 personnel, which would include 90% Indians. The company also received 100% of technology and its testing has also been indigenised against the earlier practice of the parts to be approved from Russia. So far, 60 critical components have been indigenised which are supplied by vendors pan-India and then assembled and tested in India. All the components have an alternate Indian supplier already.[24]Remove ads
Ownership
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%.[25]
A serving Major General SK Sharma from the Indian Army leads the company as its CEO & MD.[26]
Leaders
- Major General Sanjeev Sengar (2019-2023).[27]
- Major General S. K. Sharma (Aug 2023 onwards)
References
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