India has manufactured and tested a prototype of the 100 per cent indigenised AK-203 ‘Sher’ rifle, with army trials for the weapon to begin in September this year, Major General SK Sharma said on Sunday, while sharing a video of the test firing.
Major Gen Sharma said that with the successful testing of the first prototype, IRRPL would now focus on producing the requisite number of 100 per cent indigenised AK-203 ‘Sher’ rifles for trials to the Indian Armed Forces in September, 2026. The rifles are manufactured by the Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited, a joint-venture of the Indian Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), along with Concern Kalashnikov and Rosoboron export from Russia. “A proud moment for IRRPL, our partners (AWEIL & OSL) and MSMEs, and the entire Indian Defence Industry. This is Atmanirbhar Bharat in action!!
Maj Gen S K Sharma, who is the CEO and managing director of IRRPL, said the testing of the prototype was “a moment of immense pride” for the company. Ever single component and input material which has gone into manufacturing the rifle is sourced from the Indian industry, Major Gen Sharma said in the post. He said this was not just “localisation of selected components”, but was a “true, end-to-end ‘100% genuine indigenisation’ of the rifle. He said the prototype of the first 100 per cent indigenised vehicle had “successfully undergone firing, including burst firing”, adding that the initial results were “extremely encouraging. Major Gen Sharma said. The IRRPL CEO said the company will be “moving towards a production rate of one AK-203 (Sher) every 100 seconds,” adding that there is “much more ahead. Major Gen Sharma further said that IRRPL was also looking to prepone the delivery timeline of the approximately 6 lakh rifles that it has to supply to the Indian Army “by almost one year”. He credited the company’s efforts towards “capacity enhancement, indigenisation and production optimisation” for the efficiency.
IRRPL is mandated under a ₹ 5,200 crore contract to supply 6,01,427 rifles to the armed forces by October 2032. However, Major Gen Sharma had earlier too said that the company plans to finish deliveries by December 2030.
