Adani Defence Signs 5-Year AK-203 Ammo Supply Deal With IRRPL

Under the agreement, Adani Defence will supply 7.62x39 mm ammunition for the AK-203 for five years, providing an Indian source for the ammunition required and supporting continuity of supply during the contract period.

The agreement brings together AK-203 rifle production by IRRPL and ammunition production by Adani Defence, creating an integrated domestic supply chain, further strengthening capabilities across the small-arms sector and supporting the Aatmanirbhar Bharat objective in defence manufacturing.

The scale of the programme this ammunition deal feeds into: IRRPL was incorporated in 2019 under an India-Russia intergovernmental agreement to manufacture AK-203 rifles for the Indian Armed Forces, with its facility located at Korwa in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. A contract for 6,01,427 rifles was signed with IRRPL in December 2021, valued at roughly Rs 5,124 crore (about $670 million) — one of the largest defence deals between India and Russia in recent years. The AK-203 is intended to replace the Indian Army's INSAS rifle, in service since 1996 and known for reliability issues such as jamming in cold conditions. Under the original production plan, localisation of manufacturing was set to begin at around 5 per cent for the first 70,000 rifles, rising in phases to 70 per cent, before the remaining rifles are produced with full localisation — meaning the domestic ammunition supply chain Adani Defence now enters becomes more central to the programme as local content increases over its production run.

The joint venture has Indian shareholders Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited and Munitions India Limited, alongside Russian shareholders Concern Kalashnikov and Rosoboronexport. The Ministry of Defence has identified IRRPL as the designated joint venture for indigenous AK-203 production.

Adani Defence & Aerospace has separately established manufacturing capabilities for small-calibre ammunition in India, including a facility in Kanpur.

This agreement follows another major milestone for the company: in July, Adani Defence and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) signed an agreement for AEW&C-MKII, India's next-generation Airborne Early Warning and Control programme. That deal made Adani Defence the first private Indian company entrusted with development, integration and lifecycle support of an airborne mission platform of this scale, covering joint development, manufacture and integration of airborne mission systems on six modified Airbus A321 aircraft for the IAF, along with logistics, maintenance, repair and overhaul, and technical support for up to 30 years.