The manufacture of the AK-203 assault rifles by the Indo-Russian joint venture at Amethi, Uttar Pradesh is set to begin by year-end and the manufacturing equipment required for it will be dispatched from Russia shortly, according to a senior official of Kalashnikov, the Russian company which manufactures the rifles. The production was originally scheduled to begin early this year.
“Training of Indian workers of the factory will begin shortly and the manufacturing process will reach 100% indigenisation in three years,” the official who did not wish to be identified said. He stated that earlier issues with regard to the ammunition for the rifles have been resolved.
Confirming this, Dmitry Shugaev, Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) of Russia, said on the sidelines of the Army-2022 expo, “Work is under way to organise the production of the AK-203 assault rifles in India, the serial production of which is expected to begin in late 2022-early 2023.”
