The Indian Army has received a fresh consignment of 5,000 AK-203 rifles from the Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) facility in Amethi, marking another step forward in its ambitious small arms modernisation drive. Sources confirmed that the rifles were handed over after undergoing rigorous trials and quality checks conducted by the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA), whose team had visited Amethi last month before clearing the latest batch for frontline deployment along the border areas.
With this delivery, the Amethi plant has now supplied 53,000 AK-203 rifles to the Army, part of the ₹5,200-crore project to produce over six lakh rifles under the government’s flagship ‘Make in India’ initiative. The first rifle rolled out of the Korwa plant on August 15, 2023, which also houses India’s most advanced small arms testing facility. Designed for precision and reliability, the AK-203 boasts an effective range of 800 metres and a firing rate of 700 rounds per minute, making it a potent upgrade over the ageing INSAS rifles currently in service.
Officials said that indigenisation has already touched the 50 per cent mark and is set to reach 70 per cent by October. By December 2025, the rifle is expected to achieve complete indigenisation and will be rebranded as ‘Sher’. At that point, the Amethi plant will have the capacity to produce 12,000 rifles per month—one every 100 seconds—adding up to 1.5 lakh rifles annually. The project timeline has also been accelerated, with the delivery of the entire six-lakh order now scheduled by December 2030, nearly two years ahead of the original December 2032 deadline.
Beyond meeting domestic demand, India also plans to export the AK-203, with several countries already showing interest in its performance. The Army, which has so far reported zero complaints with the delivered rifles, is gradually phasing out the INSAS in favour of this new, indigenised weapon system that reflects India’s growing self-reliance in defence manufacturing.
