Pics from D. F. I. :
Astr Defence, new small arms company ?
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Just look at this photo of AK 203 displayed at def expo :
View attachment 13995

This is nothing but AK 103 with hinged ,railed dust cover and flash hider,there is no adjustable stock,new hand guard ,selector lever ,even the mag is opaque polymer instead of the new reinforce mag with window.

I think this is actually a 103 serving as some kind of stand-in. You can tell this isn't a production 203, the fire selector doesn't have that extension on the side that 203s have:

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^^ Defexpo 203

Old 203 :

203 2.JPG
 
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Interview of the SSS Defence CEO :

Exchanging Shots with SSS Defence – Lessons for ‘Make in India’

Source : Exchanging Shots with SSS Defence – Lessons for ‘Make in India’

What interested me is this part :
How do you plan to take on the DRDO, Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and their products in similar range? What makes your sniper rifles better ?

VK: We have no plans for the DRDO or the OFB. We just want to make the best performing weapon and go global with it. Our goal is to be reckoned at par with the SIG’s. Not to be a local player. They are free to co-develop with us and we’re open to co-developing different weapons across calibers. But the cultural rift and working styles are just too much at variance. Our sniper rifles are better on design, performance parameters, ergonomics, anthropometrics, construction, modularity and light-weight characteristics. We’re going out on a limb and strategically working on models of sniper rifles that fit specific special forces missions. Eg: a compact semi-auto sniper system for airborne forces, an urban combat sniper weapon that can also double up for ops in and around armoured vehicles to cite a few. These will be game changers. (“Defexpo 2020 should see some variants hopefully”, he added in Nov 2019).

Vivek’s parting line, summing up the essence of their enterprise:

It’s not just sniper weapons. We’ve been working on a whole family of assault weapons on semi-auto and auto formats, a LMG, and, in the future, we will also come up with a handgun product. We’ll be different from any of the other firms in India who play in the small arms segment in that we shall always own our IP. We don’t believe in cosmetic indigenisation where some parts are manufactured with tech from a foreign player and the Indian company is merely an integrator.


Love it. Absolutely love this attitude. May the Gods(or the MoD) be kind to them, we need more of their kind.
 
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I think this is actually a 103 serving as some kind of stand-in. You can tell this isn't a production 203, the fire selector doesn't have that extension on the side that 203s have:

View attachment 14073

^^ Defexpo 203

Old 203 :

View attachment 14075

First of all ,India is going to be the biggest manufacturer of AK 203 .It only make sense that they would present their best foot forward for a prestigious defence show in India,not some half done jugad.

Second none of us can tell what is really happening or will happen regarding the final configuration of AK 203 ,which India will produce.This could very much possibly be the final configuration which India will produce.Either Indian side could have demanded this(to keep cost low) or Russian are selling this configuration (to milk their jersey cow to its maximum extent by cost cutting on hardware offered).


Now coming to your point,no!this is not ak 103 but indeed an ak 203.
ak 103 vs ak 203.jpg

This is an ak 203 with fixed stock,selector lever,hand guard and cleaning rod of ak 103.The hinged dust cover ,rear sight block ,pistol grip and flash hider are retained of AK 203.


What is ak 203 ,it is an upgraded ak 103 with new m4 style stock,new hand guard,railed hinged dust cover,new pistol grip with grooves,flash hider,new rear sight block,selector lever with extension and 3 piece cleaning rod.All this incorporated into production right from the factory.

Now ,how can I tell that this is an AK 203 not ak 103 with railed dust cover and flash hider?

When the modernization kit is installed on AK 103 it is called km-ak ,and even though most of the kit is same ,there are some difference from which we can tell ,whether it is an AK 103 with new kit or ak 203.

One of the main difference between modernization kit and factory production is in the method to secure the hinged railed dust cover.In ak 203 the dust cover is secured through a lever,present at the side.Whereas in modernization kit the railed dust cover is secured with a captive pin present at the rear.Second difference is the design of the rear sight block,and how the railed dust cover is hinged on it.
AK 103 VS AK 203 2.jpg


AK 203 defexpo.jpg




While we are at it .here are technical difference between AK 103 and AK 203 :


AK 103 / AK 203



Sighting range, m 1000 / 800



Direct Shot Range, m 300 / 350


Rate of fire, rds / min 600 / 700



Initial speed, m / s 715 / 715



Weight with empty magazine, kg 3.6 / 4.1



Weight with the equipped magazine, kg 4.1 / 4.6


Magazine capacity 30 / 30



Length with spread butt, mm 943 / 890-950



Length with folded butt, mm 704 / 700


Barrel length mm 415 / 415



The length of the threaded
portion of the barrel, mm 369 / 369


AK 203 :
ak 203 94.jpg


I hope government dump this deal and this rifle ,I feel we are better without the AK !


Coming to SSS defence rifle :

sss defence 17.jpg


The same rifle will also be chambered in 7.62x51mm and 5.56x45mm

The rifle has ambidextrous side charging handle.

Receiver and hand guard both are made up of machined alloy,most probably aircraft grade aluminium.
 
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First of all ,India is going to be the biggest manufacturer of AK 203 .It only make sense that they would present their best foot forward for a prestigious defence show in India,not some half done jugad.

Second none of us can tell what is really happening or will happen regarding the final configuration of AK 203 ,which India will produce.This could very much possibly be the final configuration which India will produce.Either Indian side could have demanded this(to keep cost low) or Russian are selling this configuration (to milk their jersey cow to its maximum extent by cost cutting on hardware offered).


Now coming to your point,no!this is not ak 103 but indeed an ak 203.
View attachment 14097
This is an ak 203 with fixed stock,selector lever,hand guard and cleaning rod of ak 103.The hinged dust cover ,rear sight block ,pistol grip and flash hider are retained of AK 203.


What is ak 203 ,it is an upgraded ak 103 with new m4 style stock,new hand guard,railed hinged dust cover,new pistol grip with grooves,flash hider,new rear sight block,selector lever with extension and 3 piece cleaning rod.All this incorporated into production right from the factory.

Now ,how can I tell that this is an AK 203 not ak 103 with railed dust cover and flash hider?

When the modernization kit is installed on AK 103 it is called km-ak ,and even though most of the kit is same ,there are some difference from which we can tell ,whether it is an AK 103 with new kit or ak 203.

One of the main difference between modernization kit and factory production is in the method to secure the hinged railed dust cover.In ak 203 the dust cover is secured through a lever,present at the side.Whereas in modernization kit the railed dust cover is secured with a captive pin present at the rear.Second difference is the design of the rear sight block,and how the railed dust cover is hinged on it.
View attachment 14098

View attachment 14102



While we are at it .here are technical difference between AK 103 and AK 203 :


AK 103 / AK 203



Sighting range, m 1000 / 800



Direct Shot Range, m 300 / 350


Rate of fire, rds / min 600 / 700



Initial speed, m / s 715 / 715



Weight with empty magazine, kg 3.6 / 4.1



Weight with the equipped magazine, kg 4.1 / 4.6


Magazine capacity 30 / 30



Length with spread butt, mm 943 / 890-950



Length with folded butt, mm 704 / 700


Barrel length mm 415 / 415



The length of the threaded
portion of the barrel, mm 369 / 369


AK 203 :
View attachment 14099

I hope government dump this deal and this rifle ,I feel we are better without the AK !


Coming to SSS defence rifle :

View attachment 14100

The same rifle will also be chambered in 7.62x51mm and 5.56x45mm

The rifle has ambidextrous side charging handle.

Receiver and hand guard both are made up of machined alloy,most probably aircraft grade aluminium.
SSS Defence rifles are chambered in 7.62x39 and 5.56x45. This was clarified by their CEO
 
SSS Defence rifles are chambered in 7.62x39 and 5.56x45. This was clarified by their CEO

The same rifle will also be chambered in 7.62x51mm and 5.56x45mm.

sss 7.62 1.JPG

sss 7.62 2.JPG

sss 7.62 3.JPG

sss 7.62 4.JPG



Regarding SSS defence rifles,they have presented quite decent design and features as far as ergonomics and aesthetics are concerned.The specs,internal mechanism,disassembly and assembly is something which should have been displayed at def expo or media should have highlighted it in their reports.Unfortunately neither the company nor the media is interested in a proper presentation.All I have seen is people clicking the photos of the rifle or posing with the rifles,a product ,especially a rifle is much more than its visual appearance.Moreover SSS defence have been shy until now as far as photos of their manufacturing facility is concerned ,where they would have crafted these products.I am even disappointed at the presentation on their website.SSS defence wake up!smell the coffee ,just have a look at SIG SAUER website ,with whom you want to compete with.Start with replacing your cover photo of an american soldier and M4 ,with one of your product wallpaper.Change the user interface of the website ,as well as the presentation.When I read content it is all "India",but the photos are all American.Nor there is any product lineup along with it specs ,I understand that most of the products are still in development stage,but place the specs and photos of those in your website.If they are good enough for defexpo they are good enough for your website,as changes will be made with time ,they can be incorporated in your website also.Regarding marketing and you tube videos,they should be sleek,and high quality,these will introduce your company to the world ,so avoid half hearted attempt ,just like your website.Invite Vickers tactical or Nutfancy,they will not only create the hype but also provide with valuable feedback.Regarding marketing video IWI or CZ are the examples to follow.Also demo ranch is an easy way to hog limelight.And for god's sake don't market your products as "cheap" rifles,market them on their quality,features,performance and design.
sss photo 1.JPG

sss photo 2.JPG

sss photo 3.JPG



Beside this the performance of their products is real world test conditions are yet to be seen.Having said all this ,even if their products perform up to 70% of AK 203 ,I would like the government to scrap AK 203 and go in for their rifles.With little hand holding from the government and the army and joint effort in fine tuning of the products by army and the company ,they can easily enhance the performance to either match or surpass the ak 203.I would be fine even if it could match 90% of AK 203 performance.As per me the most crucial aspect that differentiate the Kalashnikov and SSS defence is the metallurgy,Kalashnikov have their hands on world class metallurgy as far as small arms are concerned,in case of SSS defence the quality of metallurgy is yet to be seen.


Some people might raise question on how a new small company ,with relatively new products ,no prior experience in mass manufacturing of the rifles can be given such a big order over a legacy company like Kalashnikov. This question is valid,there is a risk in this ,however a worthy risk,If we want to see our nation not only producing advance rifles but also exporting to other countries,government will have to nurture these small companies into big manufacturing giants,if they will not ,then who else will?We can't expect them to first get large foreign orders,to be worthy of our orders.It is an Indian company,It will boost Indian manufacturing ,Indian R&D ,Indian economy ,so it is but natural that it should be Indian government which should take chance,risk and provide full support in ensuring that this effort of creating indigenous ,world class small arms succeed. If this effort fail,it will not only be a loss for the manufacturer but of our nation.
 
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BEL computer unit for infantry soldiers.
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BEL unveils successor to ‘Simputer,’ mainly for use in military

By Akhil Kadidal, Feb 09 2020, 22:14pm IST
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BEL has developed a new tablet which has defence and non-defence applications.

Six months after announcing that it was working on a successor to its 1990s “Simputer,” the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) unveiled its new tablet at Defexpo 2020 in Lucknow. The exhibition concluded on Sunday.

According to BEL, the new 850-gram, 10.1-inch tablet, which does not yet have a name, is built around a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 1.2 Ghz processor, a quad-core Mali 450 graphics processor, full HD support and a crypto processor. At the heart of the new system is BEL’s home-grown System on Chip (SoC), an integrated circuit commonly found on smartphones.

However, unlike the 1990s’ Simputer, which was described as a computer for the masses, especially for those in the agrarian sector, the new tablet’s use appears intended primarily for the military. A BEL officer said the device could also have non-defence applications.

BEL’s chief of Research and Development, Mahesh V, said, “BEL had earlier developed a tablet which was used to conduct the socio-economic survey (caste census). The new SoC-based Tablet PC is planned to be used in projects of strategic importance,” he said.

The device, which was launched in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will use the older Android Marshmallow operating system. BEL sources said Wipro was the integrator for the device, followed by a second city-based technology-company serving as the consultant.

The company’s SoC is fabricated at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Facility with a 40 nano-metre LP process technology. The company said that it will also use the chip on a range of secure phones, electronic voting machines, software defined radios and thermal cameras.

M V Gowtama, BEL’s chief managing director, had earlier told DH that the company’s work on the Simputer and a successive second generation low-cost tablet in 2012-2013 had given it the requisite know-how to develop its indigenous SoC.

BEL unveils successor to ‘Simputer,’ mainly for use in military