Kalashnikov Eyes Indian Partners for Weapons Production

February 6 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Kalashnikov Concern is in talks with several Indian companies on setting up joint ventures to produce small arms and high-precision weaponry, a company official said Thursday.

The Kalashnikov Concern, one of the world’s largest firearms producers, makes the famed AK-47 assault rifle and its military derivatives (photo: AK-12).

“India for us is a market with high potential…and we are marketing here all weapons on our production list, including assault rifles, sniper rifles and high-precision weapons,” Andrei Baryshnikov, Kalashnikov exports director, said at the DEFEXPO INDIA-2014 exhibition in New Delhi.

“Taking into account the specifics of Indian legislation, we are considering the possibility of establishing joint ventures on arms production. Talks are underway with specific companies,” Baryshnikov said.

He added that the possible ventures would be involved in production of combat weaponry as well as firearms for civilian use, including hunting rifles and shotguns. 

The Legendary Kalashnikov Assault Rifle

The Kalashnikov Concern, one of the world’s largest firearms producers, makes the famed AK-47 assault rifle and its military derivatives.

The company also produces a wide range of civilian guns for sport shooting and hunting.

It recently signed a deal with a US firm to supply 200,000 firearms annually, and is looking to market aggressively its products worldwide.

First Salvo Launch of Russian-Indian Cruise Missiles From Ship Successful

February 6 (RIA Novosti) – The first ever test launch of an advanced Russian-Indian Brahmos supersonic cruise missile from a warship in salvo mode took place earlier this year and was successful, a Brahmos Aerospace spokesman said Thursday. 

The Trikand missile frigate (archive)

Two missiles were launched within an interval of several seconds, the spokesman told RIA Novosti on the sidelines of the DefExpo-2014 exhibition in New Delhi.

The target was destroyed, the spokesman said.

India’s PTI news agency cited a Defence Research and Development Organization official as saying that the launch took place from the Russian-built INS Trikand warship in the Arabian Sea.

Russian-Indian Brahmos supersonic cruise missile

According to PTI, eight cruise missiles could be fired in salvo mode in future.

The Brahmos missile has a range of 290 kilometers (180 miles) and can carry a conventional warhead of up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds). It can effectively engage targets from an altitude as low as 10 meters (30 feet) and has a top speed of Mach 2.8, which is about three times faster than the US-made subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile.

The Russian-Indian BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

Sea- and ground-launched versions have been successfully tested and put into service with the Indian army and navy.

Russia and India have also agreed to develop a hypersonic Brahmos 2 missile capable of flying at speeds of Mach 5 to Mach 7.