On September 10, General Director of Russia - India Arsenal Company Limited (IRRPL), Major General Sudhir Kumar Shamar said that the company's representative in India is negotiating with Russia on the possibility of opening a second domestic rifle factory.
Shamar said the proposal was originally made to meet IRRPL's growing demand for Russia's AK-203 rifle.
The possibility of the two sides reaching an agreement is very high because, according to him, Russia is always ready to support India whenever it needs it.
I affirm that Russia and India are two great strategic partners, Shamar said, praising Moscows military experts who have actively supported the joint venture.
Speaking about the company's future vision, Major General Shamar stated that by 2030, IRRPL will become a leading manufacturer of small arms and related components in Asia.
Previously, on September 8, another Russian-Indian military joint venture called Brahmos Aerospace also issued a notice regarding the promotion of cooperation between the two sides to develop weapons and technology.
The joint venture's Russian CEO, Alexander Maksichev, said that Brahmos Aerospace is planning to begin independent testing of the upgraded version, the lightweight BrahMos-NG hypersonic cruise missile in 2026.
According to previous reports, the BrahMos-NG missile, with a range of more than 300km, will be different from the original version with a lighter weight of half (1.29 tons) compared to 2.9 tons of the previous version. The company's leadership said that the production of the new missile could take place in 3 to 5 years.
BrahMos is a hypersonic cruise missile co-developed by Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya and the Defense Research and Development Organization. The first test launch took place in 2001.
Different versions of the missile have been used by the Indian Navy, air force and ground force. BrahMos Aerospace is headquartered in New Delhi. The name BrahMos is a combination of the names of the Brahmaputra River in India and the Moscow River in Russia.
