India advances AK-203 production to fully indigenous components by August 2026

At the Korwa plant in Amethi, Indo-Russian Rifles Pvt Ltd is nearing the point where every AK-203 rifle will be assembled from Indian-made parts, a milestone expected by August 2026. The effort began with a technology transfer that included roughly 90,000 pages of Russian documentation and has progressed from 5% Indian content in the first 2023 rifle to 100% of the 50 major components and nearly 180 sub-parts being produced locally.

Building the supply chain involved creating Indian sources for specialised steel alloys, springs, engineering plastics and coatings, with assistance from Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Ltd and Adani Defence Systems. Around 76 sub-vendors were evaluated, many in Uttar Pradesh, and testing capabilities were expanded to Indian labs, while Russian experts continue to work onsite. Test firer Neha Mishra, the sole female among nine testers, helped certify the first fully Indian rifle after it survived a continuous 3,000-round firing test. The plant, employing about 247 staff, plans to increase output to one rifle every 100 seconds and is preparing ten rifles with 100% indigenous content for Army trials, while also gauging demand for over 150,000 units and potential exports.