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New Delhi: The Indian armed forces are phasing out INSAS and replacing it with the sophisticated AK-203 assault rifles — a modernised Kalashnikov variant which can fire up to 700 rounds per minute with an effective range of 800 metres.
Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL), a joint venture set up to manufacture the AK-203 — called ‘Sher’ in India — is manufacturing the rifle indigenously in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.
Operating under a Rs 5,200-crore contract, the company is supposed to supply more than six lakh rifles to the armed forces. IRRPL aims to complete all deliveries by December 2030.
As INSAS is replaced by AK-203, it brings to spotlight the legend of the AK series rifle and the legacy of its creator, Mikhail Kalashnikov, which continues to endure.
Born on November 10, 1919, Mikhail Kalashnikov was a Soviet and Russian lieutenant general, inventor, military engineer, writer, and small arms designer. Kalashnikov suffered from a host of diseases during his childhood. Every type of machinery drew him. Kalashnikov was largely self-taught man and developed mechanical skills by closely studying weaponry to design arms.
In his teens, Kalashnikov used his father's rifle to hunt. Interestingly, he also wrote poetry during this time and later in his life too. In 1938, he was conscripted into the Red Army. Recognising his engineering aptitude, the Army first posted him as a tank mechanic, and he later became tank commander. During his training, he made his first inventions, which involved not just tanks but also small arms. He was wounded in the Battle of Bryansk in October 1941 and remained in hospital until April 1942.
It was during his stay in the hospital that he overheard fellow soldiers complaining about the rifles they were using. After his discharge, he began experimenting with firearms — work that would finally result in the creation of the AK-47 (which stands for Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947). In 1949, the AK became the standard issue assault rifle of the Soviet Army.
Today, Kalashnikov is most famous for designing the AK-47 assault rifle and its successors — the AKM and AK-74 — along with the RPK light machine gun and the PK series of machine guns. He hailed his rifle as "a weapon of defense" and "not a weapon for offense".
By 2009, an estimated 100 million AK-47 rifles had been manufactured. Its widespread success was apparently due to its simple design, remarkable durability, and ease of maintenance in almost any condition.
On his 90th birthday in 2009, Kalashnikov was named a "Hero of the Russian Federation" and awarded a medal. After having lived a fulfilling life, Kalashnikov died on December 23, 2013 from gastric hemorrhage at the age 94. A 9 metres (30 foot) monument of Kalashnikov was unveiled in Garden Ring, situated in central Moscow, on September 19, 2017.
