India to buy 70,000 assault rifles from Russia

Move for off-the-shelf buys comes amid delays in joint manufacturing of rifles, helicopters in India

With repeated delays in deals for procurement of AK-203 assault rifles and Kamov-226 utility helicopters from Russia, India has signed a deal for 70,000 AK-203 assault rifles to be procured off the shelf, while the Army is also looking at procuring limited number of helicopters off the shelf to meet immediate shortage of light utility helicopters. Meanwhile, Russia has carried out upgrades of the Ka-226T helicopter on offer, according to officials. “The deal for the 70,000 rifles has been signed but the first payment is yet to be made. The deliveries would begin within three months once the first payment is made and be completed in six months,” officials from India and Russia confirmed. On the Ka-226T “Climber”, as the upgraded version is referred to, an official from Russian Helicopters said the redesigned helicopter has improved flight and technical characteristics. The Army is looking at procuring over 7.5 lakh AK-203 rifles and the two countries had signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) in February 2019 following which a joint enture — Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) — was set up at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh for manufacturing the rifles.