Russia’s Kalashnikov looking to expand gun supplies to Indian police

A Russian-Indian joint venture manufacturing AK-203 assault rifles is looking to supply law enforcement in Kerala

A Russian-Indian joint venture has submitted a bid for a contract to supply Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles to the police force in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport said in a statement on Tuesday.

Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL), formed by Rosoboronexport and the Kalashnikov Concern along with two state-owned Indian firms – Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited and Munitions India Limited – started manufacturing the rifles in India in 2023.

AK-203 rifles are manufactured using Russian technology and certified equipment. They are produced in the town of Korda in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, following the ‘Make in India’ initiative of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The capacities of the Korwa Ordnance Factory make it possible to equip the personnel of the Ministry of Defense and other law enforcement agencies of India with AK-203 assault rifles, which, due to their high adaptability, are suitable for various operators,” Rosoboronexport CEO Aleksandr Mikheev said in a statement. 

In addition, the joint venture will be able to export its products to third countries, according to Mikheev. Manufacturing of AK-203 rifles has progressed rapidly since 2019, when Modi visited the Amethi district where the Korwa ordnance factory is located, reports said.

Read more

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement in 2019 that “the new joint venture will manufacture world famous Kalashnikov assault rifles of the newest 200 series and eventually will reach full localization of production. Thus, the Indian defense-industrial sector will have the opportunity to fulfill the needs of national security agencies in this category of small arms, resting upon advanced Russian technologies.”

Since then, more than 35,000 Kalashnikovs have been delivered to the Indian Army by the joint venture, Srihari Pratap Shahi, additional CEO of UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), told RT. He added that further manufacturing of nearly 600,000 AK-203 rifles will be spread over ten years. 

UPEIDA is part of the Uttar Pradesh state government, tasked with establishing ‘defense industrial corridors’ in the northern part of India. Earlier this year, India proposed exporting the AK-203 rifle to Nepal, potentially replacing the outdated INSAS platform, as part of a broader effort to standardize modern assault rifles, according to a report in media outlet ThePrint.

READ MORE: Flying high: The world’s 4th-largest military spender is kicking its dependency on foreign weapons