India and Russia on Thursday signed a deal for an urgent off-the-shelf procurement of 70,000 latest AK 200 series of assault rifles, The Print has learned.
As per the sources in defence sector, the initial plan was to directly import 20,000 of 7.62 mm x 39 mm AK 203 rifle and joint manufacture of 6.5 lakh of them in India, but due to the delay in joint production, India bought them off the shelf.
The off-the-shelf equipment could involve multiple variants of the AK 200 series since the basic difference is the accessories that are fitted to the rifle.
The contract was signed between the Ministry of Defence and Russian representatives, in the presence of the officials from Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt Ltd.
These rifles are expected to start arriving in the country from November this year. They will replace the 5.56×45 mm INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) rifles that are currently in use with the Army, Navy, and Air Force besides other security forces and will become the mainstay of the armed forces for years to come.
