The Indian Army and Russia is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the procurement of over 7.5 lakh AK-203 assault rifles. The rifles will be manufactured by the Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh.
The facility is being set up between the Ordnance Factories Board (OFB) from the Indian side, and Rosoboron Exports and Kalashnikov on the Russian side. The OFB owns 50.5% equity and Russian side holds the remaining 49.5%. The Army has been looking to replace the indigenous INSAS (Indian National Small Arms System) rifles in use with a modern rifle.