70 rounds of fire, 3,000-round endurance: How India turned a Russian AK-203 into its own ‘Sher’
India has successfully localized the production of the Russian-designed AK-203 rifle at a facility in Amethi. The project represents a significant milestone in India's efforts to achieve self-reliance in small-arms manufacturing.
Why it matters
This marks a strategic shift in India's defense procurement, moving from imports to indigenous manufacturing for critical military hardware.
NEW DELHI: Every working day, 23-year-old Neha Mishra shoulders an AK-203 'Sher', takes aim and pulls the trigger. But the shots she fires at the Indo-Russian Rifles Pvt Ltd (IRRPL) facility in Korwa are not part of military training. They help determine whether a newly manufactured rifle is ready for a soldier.Mishra is the only woman among IRRPL's nine test firers. Her firing range is just a few kilometres from her home in Munshiganj, Amethi, and her job is to test the rifles manufactured at the facility.She is also among those to fire the first AK-203 made entirely from components and input materials manufactured in India, marking a major milestone in the country's small-arms manufacturing programme.For Mishra, the difference between the earlier rifles containing Russian-origin components and the fully Indian version is difficult to detect.“It is the same.
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