The Indian government is opening a new manufacturing facility for production of 200-series Kalashnikov assault rifles in Korwa, Uttar Pradesh, Rostec announced on 4 March.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present at a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the new production facility that will produce weapons to replace the in-service INSAS.

The new plant, Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited, is a JV between India's Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and Russia's Rosoboronexport and the Kalashnikov Group parented by Rostec. All operations of the new JV are consistent with India’s laws and regulations.

The 200-series Kalashnikovs were introduced in the international market earlier this year. They are fully consistent with modern requirements in terms of ergonomics and compatibility with advanced accessories.

According to Rostec, India is the first country to have launched production of the 200-series of the Kalashnikov brand.

Alexander Mikheev, Rosoboronexport’s CEO, commented: ‘The commissioning of the JV for production of the AK-203 is by all means a milestone in our partnership under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The plant in Corva is one of the most advanced OFB small arms enterprises already in operation. With production of 750 thousand pieces approved, major components for them will come mostly from India.’

Mikheev added, ‘The capacity of the plant is sufficient to arm the personnel of all security agencies in India. Should it become necessary, the parties will be able to ratchet up the production output and upgrade the facility to manufacture future models based on Kalashnikov’s unique design.’