The joint venture will hand over 10 fully indigenous prototype rifles to the Indian Army within a month for extensive trials.
IRRPL plans to deliver 7,000 fully indigenous rifles in the first three months starting April 2027 before transitioning into full-scale production.
To date, the Indian Army has received 55,000 AK-203 rifles assembled in India using components supplied under technology transfer stages.
Under the contract, IRRPL is tasked with delivering over 6 lakh AK-203 rifles to the Indian Armed Forces by 2032.
Earlier, the 100% indigenous rifle was promised by the end of 2025.
News india Indian Army To Get 100% Indigenous AK-203 ‘Sher’ In April 2027, 10 Prototype Rifles To Start Trials In A Month
Indian Army To Get 100% Indigenous AK-203 ‘Sher’ In April 2027, 10 Prototype Rifles To Start Trials In A Month
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Last Updated: August 24, 2026, 19:13 IST
IRRPL Chief Executive Officer Major General SK Sharma told News18 that the prototype rifles have already undergone 3,000 successful test firings at the factory
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AK-203: IRRPL plans to deliver 7,000 fully indigenous rifles in the first three months starting April 2027 before transitioning into full-scale production.
Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) has completed 100 per cent indigenisation of the AK-203 assault rifle, officially named ‘Sher’, paving the way for full-scale domestic manufacturing at its plant in Korwa, Amethi.
The joint venture will hand over 10 fully indigenous prototype rifles to the Indian Army within a month for extensive trials. Deliveries of the fully local rifles are scheduled to begin from April 2027.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with CNN-News 18, IRRPL Chief Executive Officer, Major General SK Sharma, confirmed that the prototype rifles have already undergone 3,000 successful test firings at the factory.
Firing Trials and Delivery Schedule
The 10 prototype units handed over to the military will go through concurrent testing, including user trials, Director General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) evaluations, Military Infantry Trials (MIT), and environmental tests in summer and high-altitude conditions.
“While they are doing trials concurrently, since we are very confident of our rifle, we will start the production process in terms of getting the components from our vendors and start assembling," Maj Gen Sharma said.
IRRPL plans to deliver 7,000 fully indigenous rifles in the first three months starting April 2027 before transitioning into full-scale production.
To date, the Indian Army has received 55,000 AK-203 rifles assembled in India using components supplied under technology transfer stages. Another 7,500 rifles are assembled at the factory and ready for dispatch. These units form part of the initial 70,000-rifle phase, which involved progressive localisation levels ranging from 5 per cent to 70 per cent.
Engineering Challenges and Material Conversion
Achieving full indigenisation required localising all 50 major components and 180 child parts of the rifle. The process started after Russia transferred about 90,000 pages of technical documentation, which arrived in three tranches ending in mid-2024.
The primary engineering hurdle was not component fabrication alone, but converting Russian military standard (GOST) raw material specifications into Indian equivalents.
Local vendors and the domestic defence ecosystem had to master nearly 120 manufacturing processes and indigenise 1,600 precision gauges that were initially imported from Russia. The final major component, the complex receiver assembly involving specialised metal stamping and machining, was completed recently.
Escalating Production to Meet Deadlines
The Korwa plant is currently designed to produce one AK-203 rifle every 100 seconds, amounting to 36 rifles per hour.
IRRPL plans to introduce a double-shift workflow early next year, which will boost daily production to 600 rifles. This will bring monthly output to 12,000 rifles and annual production to approximately 1.5 lakh units.
Under the contract, IRRPL is tasked with delivering over 6 lakh AK-203 rifles to the Indian Armed Forces by 2032. However, with the planned scale-up, the company expects to complete the entire order by late 2030 or early 2031, more than a year ahead of schedule.
Future Exports and Product Expansion
While fulfilling orders for the Ministry of Defence remains the main focus, IRRPL is preparing to expand its portfolio and enter global markets once domestic deliveries stabilise. According to Maj Gen Sharma, there is already global interest for over 1.5 lakh rifles. Intergovernmental agreements permit exporting the Indian-manufactured AK-203 subject to approval from the Indian government and the board.
IRRPL is also discussing plans with Russian partners to manufacture other Kalashnikov platforms at the Amethi facility, including the AK-19 assault rifle and the PPK-20 submachine gun, alongside planned upgrades to the AK-203 featuring modified metallurgy and a hollow buttstock design.
Earlier, the 100% indigenous rifle was promised by the end of 2025. However, it got delayed. It was reiterated that overall delivery schedule will be on time and the order would in-fact be fulfilled before time.
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About the Author Akash Sharma Akash Sharma, Defence Correspondent, CNN-News 18, covers the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Railways. In addition, he also follows developments in the national capital. With an extensive experien... Read More
First Published: August 24, 2026, 16:55 IST
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