The Indian Army’s Small Arms dilemma appears to be over with multiple media reports indicating that the Indian Army has received 27,000 Russian AK-203 assault rifles.
These rifles assembled in the Indo-Russian joint venture established at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh will meet the much-needed enhancement of individual firepower and assault capability of the Indian infantry soldier who faces diverse tactical situations from countering terrorists in J & K and North East to blocking infiltration and sustaining lethal fire in the face of the enemy.
Despite being a primary necessity, ‘personal weapon,’ for the soldier, the quest for small arms modernisation of the Army has gone through several conceptual iterations from fixing the bore 5.56 mm versus 7.62 mm and a single or a dual replaceable barrel.
The latter was the outcome of a fictional imagination of the Army brass of a particular era which had wasted several years in looking for a product that was simply unrealistic and not available in the global market.
Finally, the Army homed on to the trusted AK series with the latest 203 being the preferred choice which is now being inducted in the military.
“Everything is on track after initial delays, and 27,000 rifles have been given to the Army. Another 8,000 will be handed over in the next two weeks. Indigenisation level achieved is around 25%,” an official was quoted by the Hindu.
ETV Bharat has reported that a group of soldiers from the Central Command of the Indian Army were undergoing training on operating the newly introduced AK-203 rifle at the Grenadiers Regimental Center in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur in March this year.
The Army had contracted over 6.1 lakh AK-203 assault rifles to be manufactured in India with technology transfer from Russia, by a joint venture Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) set up with much fanfare just prior to the Lok Sabha polls in 2019. Five years later just as another Lok Sabha polls is ongoing, the induction has been made public.
While presently the rifle is being assembled with differing estimates of localisation, phased indigenisation is planned and peak production of the Ak-203 rifles will be only in another three years.
There were multiple factors for the delay of production and induction of the AK 203 including, “costing, payment and sanctions on Russian entities like Rosoboronexport, which is part of the AK 203 JV,” reports the Times of India.
In the interim it is reported that the Army has inducted 66,400 of the 72,400 SIG-716 assault rifles procured under a ₹700-crore deal in February 2019
As per the Rosoboronexport catalogue, “modern design features such as folding and adjustable buttstock, windowed and rifled magazine, and a pistol grip made this Assault Rifle more ergonomic. Variety of ammunition types in 7.62mm allows the operator to be combat ready and efficient while accomplishing any mission”.
The most important factor in the AK series is however reliability as automatic rifles can suffer jams at the critical moment when assaulting the enemy or undertaking counter terrorist operations.
It is this experience that the Army had with AK 47 and the necessity for a long range shoot to kill rifle that had led to selection of the AK 203, which will last the military for decades ahead.
India is hopeful that the leverage with the United States on being an irreplaceable option for competing China’s expanding PLA Navy in the Indian Ocean, the Damocles sword of sanctions imposed by the United States and which have remained ineffective so far will not hinder the indigenisation and production of the much needed assault rifle.
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