NEW DELHI, December 7. /TASS/. Russia is ready to arrange full production of 7.62mm Kalashnikov assault rifles in India in two or three years, CEO of Russia’s state arms seller Rosoboronexport (part of the state tech corporation Rostec) Alexander Mikheyev said on Tuesday.

"The Russian side confirms its readiness to arrange full-scale production of the latest version of the Kalashnikov assault rifle within two-three years to provide India’s defense structures with advanced small arms," the chief executive said.

The first batch of AK-203 assault rifles will be produced in India with a various degree of local output, following which their full-scale production on India’s soil will begin, he added.

"There is a specific feature of the launch of the production process. The first 70,000 AK-203 assault rifles will be produced in India with a stage-by-stage increase in local production from 5% to 70%. The other assault rifles will be 100% locally produced," the Rosoboronexport head said.

Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited and India’s Defense Ministry inked a deal on December 6 on the production of over 600,000 AK-203 Kalashnikov assault rifles in India and their delivery to India’s defense structures. Therefore, India can become the first foreign country to produce Kalashnikov assault rifles of the latest 200th series.

The AK-203 assault rifle in its configuration for India’s Army was unveiled at the DefExpo India 2020 international arms show.