According to his speech, very soon, the new Russian AK-203 Kalashnikov rifles will be manufactured at the Korwa Indian Ordnance Factory in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.

The immediate goal is to use the new manufacturing facility to produce 750,000 rifles. The AK-203 is supposed to completely replace the domestically developed INSAS rifles currently being used by the Indian Army and other forces.

Anyone who was ever involved in Indian arms procurement will take those statements with a grain of salt, but one question remains—what is the AK-203, and is it really a good choice to be the next Indian assault rifle?

For those who follow recent Russian small arms development, the last few years created a lot of bewilderment and confusion. It seems like every 6 months there is a new version of an AK coming out: AK-12, AK-15, AK-400, AK-103M3, AK-100M series, AK-200, AK-103-3, a so-called “Ratnik modernization kit”… and so on.

Typically, those weapons only have minor differences in features, so it is quite easy to get lost among all those prototypes, concepts and modernization efforts.

Since the author had an opportunity to participate in testing of all the above-mentioned rifles, this article will try to sort things out a little bit.

The Story of the AK-200 Series

The story of the AK-200 series began in 2007, when the R&D facility of the famous Russian Izhmash factory started working on several modernization projects, including a new version of AK-74M and AK-103 assault rifles with hinged receiver covers that have a Picatinny rail.

The idea was not anything groundbreaking—in 2004, the Polish Army started issuing their troops in Iraq the WZ.2004, a new version of their AK variant called the “Beryl.” It had improvements very similar to the AK-200 series: rails on a handguard and receiver cover, adjustable stock and improved safety selector with additional tab for a trigger finger.

Combat experience in Iraq and exposure to small arms of other NATO countries forced the Polish military to adapt and overcome, quickly developing an improved version of the Beryl. At the same time, the Russian military completely ignored the growing demand for its primary assault rifle modernization.

Meanwhile, Russian soldiers and officers started buying parts and accessories on their own dime. Sometimes, weapons were becoming completely unrecognizable, because certain individuals took accessorizing too far. Very soon buying one’s own sights, stocks and grips became a new norm in many units.

By the mid-2000s, the situation was becoming preposterous—Special Forces were demanding an improved version of an AK, but manufacturers were not ready to do anything without a formal request from the army or large law enforcement agency.

In 2007, technical director of Izhmash (now Kalashnikov Concern) N. Bezborodov decided to start several modernization projects on his own initiative, without any government funding. Among those projects was a future AK-200.

On February 19, 2008, the first prototype was demonstrated to First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev while he was visiting Izhmash.

In 2010, the prototype was demonstrated to the public for the first time. Many expected this weapon to go into mass production and, at last, fulfill a demand for a modernized rifle that Russian Special Forces had all those years.

Unfortunately, the project was discontinued after the new chief designer, Vladimir Zlobin, who started working at Izhmash in May 2011, came up with the first version of his famous AK-12.

But after less than two years, the concept of the AK-200 was suddenly revived under a different name—AK-103-3. The Russian Ministry of Defense created a new “Ratnik” program with an aim to transition to a new generation of equipment and assault rifles in the Big Army.

Requirements of the “Ratnik” trials demanded each participating company to submit two weapons; one chambered for 5.45×39 and the second one chambered for 7.62×39.

At the time, the AK-12 chambered in 7.62×39 was not ready for trials, so Izhmash was forced to do some simple updates to AK-200 and submit it for testing under a new name: AK-103-3.

The gun did fairly well, but in late 2015, both the original AK-12 designed by Zlobin and AK-103-3 were replaced with a final version of the AK-12 and AK-15, respectively. The AK-103-3, formerly AK-200, after years of successful testing and trials, suddenly became redundant and almost went quietly into the night.

However, in 2016, the AK-200 project was reestablished again. Several years before that, the Russian military finally recognized the urgent need to modernize its fleet of weapons and opened an R&D project called “Obves” which roughly translates as “stuff you put on your gun.”

The winner of the Obves project trials was, predictably, a modernization kit called KM-AK developed by Kalashnikov Concern. Some American AK enthusiasts now call it the “Ratnik modernization kit” which could not be more wrong. KM-AK was developed independently of the Ratnik project and has nothing to do with it.

The idea behind the new revival of AK-200 was to combine features of the AK-103-3 and KM-AK and finally design an AK with integrated Picatinny rails. Development took only several months, and by the summer of 2016, the future AK-200 was ready. Now there was one thing left to do—give it a name. But this part turned out to be more difficult than actual development. In 2016, it was called “AK-300.” In 2017, the same rifles were presented under the designation “AK-100M-series.”

In 2019, the Army finally made a decision to name it AK-200 and use an additional GRAU index “1” for it. Therefore, while AK-103 has a 6P45 index, AK-203 will be called 6P45-1 in the official documents.

Testing

But enough about history. This author had a chance to spend some time on the range with this rifle and shoot some groups.

While some consider AKs inaccurate, design engineers at the Izhmash factory take this issue to heart. In the last few years, there were several attempts to enhance the accuracy of a standard AK. On AK-203, tolerances of the bore and chamber were tightened, which definitely affected accuracy.

Unfortunately, there is no match grade ammunition in 7.62×39 available in Russia, so every accuracy test turns into a guessing game: was it the ammunition? The shooter? The gun itself?

After shooting six or seven groups at 100 meters, the overall picture was pretty clear. Even with flyers, the gun generally shot around 2MOA. If one disregards the flyers, like he is supposed to do according to a Russian manual, groups will look just great.

But in Russian special operations there is a saying: “your worst shot shows your real level of proficiency,” so this author is not going to sugarcoat the results. In this author’s experience, an ordinary AK normally shoots around 3-4MOA with the same ammo used for the test.

The internals of the AK-203 are identical to the AK-103’s. Bolt, carrier, trigger mechanism and other parts are interchangeable. External features include a birdcage type flash hider, where the vent in the bottom is closed to help with recoil compensation.

The story behind this flash hider is also interesting. The original prototype looked more like a B.E. Meyers 249F flash hider, had open prongs and was slightly more effective in reducing flash. But during the testing, the military asked an interesting question: “flash eliminating capabilities are great and all, but how are we going to fix a bayonet on this muzzle device?” Design engineers shrugged and changed the design to a birdcage.

The reliability of the receiver cover was this author’s main concern. I opened and closed it multiple times between shooting groups and found no zero shift at 100 meters.

The design engineers, who worked on an AK-203 project, did multiple drop tests, fired a GP-34, an underbarrel grenade launcher that has such brutal recoil that it is famous for “beating weapons to death,” and attested that zero did not shift.

We will see what results long-term use will show, but for now, the mechanism looks solid.

A Solid Upgrade

In conclusion, this author likes the AK-203. Readers have reasons to call this author biased, but the AK-203 is a solid upgrade to the venerable AK-100 series.

It would have been much better if such upgrades were implemented in the early 2000s, but it is what it is. Now, when AK-203 is finally available, it will be a solid, honest, reliable workhorse that does not try to be what it is not.

It is not a groundbreaking, “never seen before,” “new generation” weapon; it is an effective and long overdue OEM upgrade to the most popular rifle on the planet.

As far as the Indian decision to use AK-203s instead of INSAS arms, the author thinks it is a good idea. I spent some time in India with certain Indian special operation units; saw their manufacturing capabilities; tested INSAS rifles; and believe that AK-203, if manufactured properly, would be a huge step forward for the Indian small arms industry.

The International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) is a biannual tri-service defence exhibition showcasing the latest products and technologies for Army, Navy and Air Force.

Evolution of IDEX

Since the first exhibition in 1993, IDEX has been steadily growing and attracting new exhibitors and visitors. After a few years, it became the most important defence exhibition in the Middle East; and now a lot of industry professionals call it “the most strategically important defence exhibition in the world.”

In 2017, more than 105,000 visitors from 142 countries attended IDEX. Over 1,300 exhibitors displayed their products at the ADNEC, or Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Large halls and a very well thought-out expo navigation system with maps and information stands and English-speaking personnel made the overall exhibition experience much better.

Surely, IDEX has come a long way since 1993, when the exhibition was organized in the middle of the desert at the UAE Air Force base, inside hangars with no air conditioning or any other proper facilities we take for granted now.

Now, IDEX is one of the more enticing defence shows to visit. Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates, is a beautiful coastal city with great beaches, luxury hotels and a lot of activities for any visitor, including kids, in case you want to turn a business trip into a family vacation.

Another great advantage of IDEX is the fact that it has exhibitors and attendees from all over the world, including countries that typically do not participate in any other defence exhibitions because of various political reasons.

Firearms Representation

Even though small arms are not the primary focus of IDEX, there were quite a few companies presenting interesting firearms.

In 2013, Colombian company INDUMIL presented its new 9mm pistol, Cordova. Since 2013, Cordova evolved into a series of handguns, which includes a full-size pistol, its compact size version and “tactical” version with longer barrel and slide cuts. Upon closer examination, I found that Cordova pistols have two unusual features. First of all, the magazine release is unlike anything you’ve seen before. To drop the magazine, one must push it forward. The advantages of this design are unclear, as well as the purpose of a special removable cover for a Picatinny rail that all Cordova pistols have. Other than that, Cordova seems to be a standard modern service pistol with a double/single-action trigger mechanism, plastic frame, removable back straps and a slide-mounted safety, which also functions as the decocker.

 There are few places where one can see Jordanian weapons, and IDEX is one of them. In the recent years, the Jordanian company called “JAWS” (Jordan Armament and Weapon Systems) developed a line of pistols called “JTP”—Jordanian Tactical Pistol.

It has a double- / single-action trigger mechanism; plastic frame and frame-mounted safety and was clearly inspired by the CZ75 design. There are two versions of JTP: full size and compact, both use 17-round magazines.

Another handgun manufactured by JAWS is a 1911. Currently, the factory offers two versions of JAWS 1911: standard and custom, both chambered for 45 ACP. The custom version has an integrated compensator, Picatinny rail and night sights. Recently, this pistol could be seen in the YouTube video where King of Jordan Abdullah II and his son are participating in a firearms training session. The custom JAWS 1911 was the King’s back-up weapon, and he seemed to be very proficient with it.

Russian Concern Kalashnikov brought to the exhibition its new AK- variants: AK-15 and AK-203. Both rifles have Picatinny rails on the receiver cover and handguard, M4-style adjustable telescoping stocks and ergonomic pistol grips. SADJ had a detailed article about the AK-12/AK-15 in Volume 10, No. 4, “AK-12 and AK-15—5th Generation Kalashnikov Rifles for the 21^st Century Russian Military.”

During the exhibition, the Indian government announced a procurement deal for 750,000 AK-203 rifles. Most of the rifles are to be manufactured in India at the new production facility in Korwa.

Sudan always has some of the most visually impressive booths at the entire exhibition. This time their stand looked like an ancient fortress lost in the desert. Sudanese small arms on display included a copy of a PKM machine gun called MOKHTAR, a copy of an SVD called MOKHTAR-1 and a KHAWAD-1 anti-materiel rifle that was missing a pistol grip.

While the concept of MSBS, a modular rifle that can be reconfigured into a bull-pup, has been around for a while, development of the .308 version-only started at the end of 2015. First pictures of the new rifle were released in September 2018.

The original MSBS chambered for 5.56×45 was developed at Fabryka Broni Łucznik-Radom, a large and well-known manufacturer of Polish AKs such as “Tantal,” “Beryll,” as well as the PM63 submachine gun and other prominent weapons.

Caracal, state-owned firearm manufacturer from United Arab Emirates, presented many interesting firearms in its booth. One of the new products Caracal showcased was the CMP9 submachine gun. Chambered for 9×19, operated by simple blow-back, this weapon has an AR-15-style safety/selector mechanism, bolt release and charging handle. Since the company currently has a branch in the U.S., it is safe to assume that pistol caliber carbines based on the CMP9 will eventually be available on the U.S. market.

Traditionally, Russian companies have a huge presence in IDEX. For many international visitors, it might be the only opportunity to see some of the strange and interesting Russian small arms “in the flesh.”

This time, Tula-based KBP Instrument Design Bureau had two different 50-caliber sniper rifles: OSV-96 and VKS.

Several years ago the author had a chance to shoot an OSV-96. It is a semi-automatic, anti-materiel sniper rifle chambered for Russian 12.7×108 rounds. Magazine capacity is five rounds; the rifle is gas-operated with a rotating bolt that has four locking lugs. Recoil was pretty mild, thanks to a large muzzle break. I would say that OSV-96 was more comfortable to shoot than a lot of rifles chambered in .338 Lapua.

While I didn’t have a chance to conduct a proper accuracy test, I never missed a metal plate that we used as a target, and it was 500 meters away. Being an anti-materiel rifle first, OSV-96 cannot demonstrate minute-of-angle accuracy but is still accurate enough for the intended purpose.

VKS is an entirely different design. It is a suppressed, straight pull bolt-action bullpup sniper rifle. VKS is chambered for proprietary 12.7×55mm subsonic rounds. While the concept might sound appealing, the reviews from the field were all but flattering. Snipers complained that the heavy subsonic bullet has the, quote: “trajectory of a brick,” making long-range shooting almost impossible. Other issues include poor ergonomics, stoppages and less than desirable accuracy. Hopefully, this weapon will be upgraded in the future, since the concept has some value.

Conclusion

Without a doubt, IDEX is one of the best defence shows in the world right now and is a must-visit event for anyone who wants to do defence- and security-related business in the MENA region.

SHOW MASTER INFO: International Defence Exhibition & Conference

Location

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Exhibition Venue

Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)

Website

idexuae.ae

Contact

General Inquiries

info@idexuae.ae

Sales

Shahla Karim

+971 (0) 2 406 3362

shahla.karim@adnec.ae

For Operations Inquiries

Operations Team

+971 (0) 2 406 3548

operations@idexuae.ae

Marketing

Nasma Al Ameri

+971 (0) 2 406 3750

nasma.alameri@adnec.ae

For media Inquiries

Dana Al Hanaee

+971 (0) 2 406 3860

dana.alhanaee@adnec.ae

Next Show

February 21-25, 2021, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)

Focus

Defence and military products, technologies and solutions

Dress

Business casual

 Show Food

There are plenty of food and snacks at the show. In 2019, organizers added several spots for food trucks inside the courtyard. Many regional cuisines are available; just keep in mind that the food at the show can be quite expensive.

Hotel Hints

There are plenty of hotels in Abu Dhabi, but since IDEX attendance is getting bigger every year, by the first day of the exhibition all hotels in the city are already booked. The author suggests that you try to book at least six months in advance.

 Power & Plug Types

220 volt 50 cycle. Abu Dhabi uses both the standard European two prong and the UK-style three large prong outlets, so prepare for both.

Country Warnings

United Arab Emirates is considered to be one of the safest countries in the world. It is quite westernized and liberal by Islamic country standards, but you still have to be careful about certain aspects of culture.

If you’re with your family, spouse or significant other, keep in mind that public display of affection such as hugs, hand holding, kisses are punishable by law. The internet is heavily censored, and many popular messengers such as WhatsApp do not support calls while you’re in the UAE. Generally, avoid any conflicts with citizens of UAE, since in the court of law you will be depicted as an aggressor and ultimately lose the case.

 Tipping

Service charges on restaurant bills generally go to the restaurant (not the staff), so it is best to give your server cash directly. Tipping is for excellent service; 10% is an adequate amount for most restaurants and bars.

Currency Type

United Arab Emirates dirham (AED). Check the currency exchange rate at www.xe.com.

An overwhelming majority of hotels, restaurants and other venues will take credit cards, but having some cash in local currency is always a good idea. Personal checks are not used.

Getting Around

Public transportation in Abu Dhabi is limited; most IDEX attendees use taxi or hire minibuses. Uber is available as well as many taxi companies. Keep in mind that most taxis do not have a GPS, so you would have to know exactly where you going-address and notable landmarks near your destination.

Most of the time you cannot pay with your credit or debit card in a taxi (you can in Dubai), so make sure you have cash and sufficient amount of change.

Tourism

Abu Dhabi offers a wide variety of restaurants, nightlife and shopping malls, most prominent being Marina Mall and Abu Dhabi Mall.

Typical activities include desert safari–you can off-road ride in the desert on a Toyota Land Cruiser 200 or museum-quality 1950s Land Rovers, if you prefer vintage vehicles. After a thrilling ride, tourists typically spend some time in a desert camp and enjoy dinner and shows.

If you have enough time, you can spend a couple of days in Dubai, visit the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, and enjoy the unique atmosphere this city has.

An Ethiopian Surprise

In the age of Google, Facebook, Reddit and all the AK-47-centered internet forums, you would not really think that some AK variants are still unknown to the general public.

These days, if one wants to learn about different types of Kalashnikovs, all one needs to do is open a browser. Forums, pictures and even special identification charts abound.

The coating used for Ethiopian AKMs provides little corrosion resistance.

I personally was very lucky—a good friend of mine, Pavel Pticin, owns the finest collection of foreign-made AKs in Russia. Thanks to him, I had at least some idea about most foreign AK variants. Also, working as an armorer in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, I had a chance to inspect and repair several thousand AKs from different countries.

People love to argue about which country made the best quality AKs. I get this question very often, and the answer is always the same, “I don’t really know.”

To answer this question with any certainty and credibility, one would need to get a batch of AKs made in every country in question and conduct extensive MIL-SPEC testing. No one will ever pay for that.

But at least now I have an answer to another, less popular question: “What are some of the worst AKs you’ve ever seen?”
After working with Kalashnikov rifles in Russia for over a decade and doing some overseas armorer gigs, I really did not expect to see anything new when I was heading to Somalia for the first time. Needless to say, I was dead wrong.

Ethiopian factory markings on the receiver.

Mystery AK

I landed in Mogadishu in a surprisingly nice airport, got through security and jumped into an armored Land Cruiser, which seemed to be the most popular choice of transportation for everyone who was on the same flight with me.

We just got to the base, and I was checking into the camp and getting my badge when a guard walked in with a very strange AK variant.

It was a stamped AKM with weird black plastic furniture. The handguard looked a bit like the East German one, with vertical checkering, but the color was definitely not right. The buttstock also had distinct East German “pebble grain” texture, which you can see on some MPI-KMs, but again, it was black.

All my weariness from the 15-hour flight with two connections was gone. I really wanted to know what it was.

Ethiopian stock installed on original type 2 AK-47.

I figured that trying to take the gun from a complete stranger is not a very smart idea, so I had to wait until the next day to take a closer look.

The next day the guards gave all their weapons to me for inspection, and I saw that AK again. One other rifle was also made by the same manufacturer. It actually had quite a few distinct markings and features, so identification itself was not so difficult after all.

On the left side of the receiver, the weapon had an inscription of the word, “GAFAT-I,” which immediately solved the mystery.

Gafat Armament Engineering Complex is one of the most prominent factories of the Ethiopian military-industrial complex.

Some people might smile when they hear “Ethiopian military-industrial complex” but really, there is nothing to laugh about. Ethiopia has quite a few very capable factories producing small arms, ammunition, mortars, repairing and upgrading military vehicles and even tanks.

Officially, Gafat Engineering Factory was established in January 1986, but the village that gave the name to the company actually had its first firearms manufacturing facility as early as 1866.

Selector markings on the Ethiopian AK. Some guns had a letter “H” as a battle sight position; others had the Roman numeral “III.”

The first question that came to my mind was: “How exactly did Ethiopia get the transfer of technology for AKs?”
They certainly did not get it from Russia (believe me, I know). Maybe it was China? China transferred technology to Albania, Iran and Sudan, why not Ethiopia? However, the gun had no Chinese features, such as fully enclosed hooded front sight, spike bayonet or L&D markings on the selector, etc.

On the first glimpse, the gun looked like a standard stamped AKM with smooth dust cover. However, as I looked inside, the origin of the gun became clear, yet very surprising.

As we all know, the easiest way to identify an AK is to look at selector markings, rear sight and factory identification marks.
The selector markings did not match any manual that I had. The full-auto setting was designated as “A” (I am assuming “automatic”) and semiauto as “S” (self-explanatory).

The safe position of the selector, as it usually is with most AKs except for Romanian variants, had no mark.

The stock had a logo and the abbreviation of GAEC for Gafat Armament Engineering Complex.

Another Ethiopian gun had Roman numeral “I” for semiauto fire and an infinity symbol for fully automatic. At first, I thought that it was a Hungarian-made weapon, since they also use the infinity symbol for full-auto.

The rear sight was even more unusual. First of all, it was only graduated up to 800 meters, with all the AKMs always having a rear sight graduated up to 1000 meters.

Again, none of that was in any identification manual that I knew of. Nevertheless, deep down I felt that I remembered something about guns with the Roman numeral III on the rear sight.

There were no visible factory markings on the trunnion, just a serial number.

Right above the magazine release there was an additional rivet inside a small indentation—a very unusual feature.

The quality of the guns clearly was not very good. But one weapon looked particularly gruesome. The front trunnion with barrel assembly was violently wobbling in the receiver. Without any effort, you could move the barrel up or down a quarter of an inch or so. The rivets looked horrible.

The rivet on the left side of the receiver was smashed; the rivet on the right side was tilted. The person at the factory probably had a particularly horrible day when he was assembling this poor assault rifle.

The weapon was easily closing on a “field” headspace gauge, which also did not inspire much confidence. Repairing this rifle without any equipment or spare parts was impossible, so I decided to just use it for much needed parts.

As I disassembled it, I noticed even more features that made this rifle stand out. The trigger mechanism had no full-auto retarder, typical for any AKM-type rifle.

As I tried to use the Ethiopian trigger to repair a different weapon I finally noticed that it was a double hook—double hook trigger; selector and rear sight markings; and additional rivet over trigger guard.

Mystery Solved

I finally remembered one very interesting and unique article by Frank Iannamico that was published in Small Arms Review in February 2010: “AK Rifles of the Democratic People’s Republic of (North) Korea.” In my hands, I had an Ethiopian copy of the North Korean Type 68 assault rifle.

North Korea was given the technology of AK production by the USSR in the 50s and 60s and was not allowed to transfer it to anyone else. Officially, they never built any AK factories anywhere in the world outside of their own country. At least that is what we thought.

The United Nations and international community were looking for proof of illegal collaboration with North Korea for years. However, all they really had to do to prove it was to field strip any Ethiopian AK.

Right above the magazine release there was an additional rivet inside a small indentation.

The history of AKs is a fascinating thing. Sometimes in just researching a rivet or a small indentation on the receiver, you can learn a lot about modern political history and international relations.

Editor’s Note: Vlad worked for Kalashnikov Concern among other AK groups in Russia and has been a valuable asset to the AK community as he travels to various hot spots as an armorer contractor. I visited the Gafat Factory in Ethiopia several years ago, and indeed the machines were North Korean and from the old Czechoslovakia. The factory was well-designed with good work flow, and the products looked well made. There were five variants of East-German-looking AKM rifles and one PSL clone coming off the lines. The possibility of “Lunchbox” AKMs is more of a probability, and we’ve been trying to track where these show up—it seems in South Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea right now. Thanks to Vlad for his observations and photos.

Selector markings on the Ethiopian AK.