India has been slowly trying to reduce its reliance on Russian-made weapons as Moscow prioritises its own needs for its ongoing war with Ukraine
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenBiman MukherjiPublished: 7:00pm, 3 Sep 2026India is touting its locally manufactured AK-203 Sher assault rifle – an advanced version of Russia’s powerful Kalashnikov – as an important milestone for the “Make in India” initiative to reduce reliance on foreign-made weapon systems.The Sher, or Tiger, will replace the older, heavily criticised Indian National Small Arms System (INSAS) service rifles used by the Indian Army.
Complaints about the INSAS emerged just a year after it was adopted by the army. Indian soldiers fighting the high-altitude Kargil war in 1999 against Pakistan-backed forces in Ladakh, then a part of Kashmir, said the firearm tended to jam or its magazine would crack in the freezing temperatures.
After the Sher was successfully test-fired on August 23 at an ordnance factory in the northern town of Amethi, experts celebrated having cracked the Kalashnikov code without having to import any parts.
This is a significant victory as most of India’s military weapon systems – from Su-30MKI fighter jets to several warships and submarines – come from Russia.
India has been slowly trying to reduce its reliance on Russian-made weapons, as Moscow prioritises its own needs for its ongoing war with Ukraine, by buying equipment from France, Israel and the United States as well as boosting domestic manufacturing.
