NEW DELHI: The much awaited fully indigenous version of the AK-203 assault rifle will be out by December and will be christened ‘Sher’ (Lion). The contract for over six lakh AK-203 rifles was signed in 2021.As per the contract, the Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) has to deliver all the rifles by December 2032. So far, the company has supplied around 48,000 to the Indian Army, with 50 per cent indigenous content.IRRPL CEO and MD Major General SK Sharma on Thursday said, “We will deliver the first 100 per cent indigenised AK-203 rifle on December 31, 2025.”Another batch of 70,000 rifles will be supplied in the next five months, he said, adding that they will have 70 percent indigenous content.”The IRRPL will supply all the rifles by mid 2030, 22 months earlier than the scheduled delivery,” he added.As reported earlier by , the AK-203 rifles would replace the ageing Indian Small Arms System (INSAS). A contract for procurement of 6,01,427 AK-203 rifles, worth Rs 5,200 crore, was signed in December 2021 between the Ministry of Defence and IRRPL — a joint venture between India, represented by the Defence PSUs-Advanced Weapons & Equipment India Limited (AWEIL) and Munitions India Limited (MIL), and Russia, represented by Rosoboronexport (RoE) & Concern Kalashnikov (CK), holding a stake of 50.5% and 49.5% respectively.
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