Russia’s state arms seller to ink deal on delivering latest AK-203 assault rifles to India

The contract may be signed in the immediate future, Rosoboronexport said. "We hope this will happen in the near future," the company said

BANGALORE: Russia’s state arms seller Rosoboronexport (part of the state tech corporation ROSTEC) has prepared a contract for signing with India on the delivery of the latest 7.62mm AK-203 assault rifles, Rosoboronexport told TASS at the Aero India 2021 international aerospace show on Thursday.

"The contract for the delivery of Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles to the Defence Ministry of India by the Russian-Indian joint venture Indo-Russian Private Rifles Limited has been worked out and is ready for signing," the state arms exporter said.

The contract may be signed in the immediate future, Rosoboronexport said. "We hope this will happen in the near future," the company said.

Russia is demonstrating the external outlook of the AK-203 assault rifle designated for the Indian Army for the first time at the Aero India 2021 exhibition. Compared to the baseline AK-203 version, the assault rifle designated for the Indian Army has a fixed side-folding butt. The empty assault rifle weighs 3.8 kg, has a rate of fire of 700 rounds per minute and an accuracy range of 800 m. The AK-203 assault rifle intended for the Indian Amy is equipped with a Picatinny rail and has a barrel length of 415 mm.

As a source in the Indian ground forces told TASS at the Aero India aerospace show, the AK-203 assault rifle fully meets the requirements of the military.

As the source said, this assault rifle is optimal for the Indian Army by a set of characteristics, in particular, by its accuracy, reliability and the weight to fire efficiency ratio. The possibility of mounting all types of sights should be specially noted.

Aero India is India’s largest aerospace exhibition. This year, the exhibition is running in the city of Bangalore on February 3-5. Russia is featuring over 200 defence products at the Aero India aerospace show.