From hunting gun to drone defence: Kalashnikov signs India production deal for MP-155, report says
A Kalashnikov MP-155 Ultima shotgun.
New Delhi: Russia’s Kalashnikov Concern says it has signed a licencing agreement to manufacture its MP-155 shotgun in India, extending its industrial cooperation with Indian partners into a weapon it is promoting for close-range drone defence. The announcement concerns local production of a civilian hunting gun adapted for battlefield use, although the company has not disclosed the Indian partner, contract value or manufacturing schedule.
The head of Kalashnikov Concern, Alan Lushnikov, announced the agreement while speaking to journalists at Patriot Park in the Moscow region on Monday, according to a TASS dispatch reproduced by Rambler. He said production in India would proceed with the Russian company’s support and linked its overseas marketing campaign to the shotgun’s use against drones.
Lushnikov described the MP-155 as a civilian hunting weapon that had proved suitable for counter-drone tasks, reflecting the adaptation of relatively simple firearms to confront small unmanned aircraft. His remarks did not identify an Indian military customer or provide details of an order from the Indian armed forces.
What the MP-155 offers
The manufacturer’s product catalogue identifies the MP-155 as a gas-operated, semi-automatic smoothbore shotgun, distinguishing it from the assault rifles for which Kalashnikov is best known. Originally designed for hunting, the weapon is offered in several configurations and can accommodate different ammunition loads.
Kalashnikov has separately described a specialized anti-drone version as suitable for engaging low-flying targets at approximately 50–100 metres. That figure comes from a company spokesperson’s account to TASS in June and represents a manufacturer claim, rather than a performance assessment published by an Indian user.
The stated range places the shotgun at the closest defensive layer, where personnel may have only a short opportunity to engage an approaching drone. In Kalashnikov’s own description of its wider counter-drone architecture, such weapons operate alongside detection equipment, interceptor drones, automated gun systems and air-defence missiles intended to address threats at different distances.
The Indian production announcement does not specify which MP-155 configuration would be manufactured or whether dedicated anti-drone ammunition forms part of the agreement. Production volumes, the location of the facility and the extent of local manufacturing also remain undisclosed in the reporting reviewed.
Earlier agreements laid the groundwork
The development follows Kalashnikov’s efforts to expand its Indian business at the India Homeland Security Expo in June this year, where it displayed shotguns, counter-drone ammunition and unmanned aircraft. An earlier RT report said agreements with Indian partners envisaged supplies of anti-drone shotguns, cartridges and pistols by the end of the year.
Kalashnikov also announced a separate contract in June to supply civilian Karakurt multirotor drones to an Indian partner, with deliveries scheduled by the end of 2026. That announcement included negotiations over licensed drone production in India, a distinct initiative from the newly reported MP-155 manufacturing agreement.
The latest announcement therefore adds a proposed local manufacturing arrangement to the company’s earlier supply commitments. However, the available reports do not establish whether the MP-155 agreement involves the same Indian partner or how it relates commercially to the June contracts.
Beyond the AK-203 partnership
Kalashnikov already participates in a substantial Indian small-arms programme through Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited, which manufactures AK-203 assault rifles at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi district. The joint venture brings together Russia’s Kalashnikov Concern and Rosoboronexport with India’s Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited and Munitions India Limited.
According to a written parliamentary reply, the defence ministry signed a contract for 601,427 AK-203 rifles on December 6, 2021. The MP-155 announcement has not identified that joint venture as the manufacturing partner, so the two programmes cannot yet be treated as part of the same production arrangement.
The proposed shotgun production also comes as India emphasizes domestic capabilities in drones and counter-drone equipment. Addressing a defence industry conclave on March 19, the defence minister, Rajnath Singh, called for an indigenous drone ecosystem covering critical components, software, engines and batteries, citing the growing importance of unmanned systems in contemporary conflicts.
For the MP-155 project, the next substantive milestones will be disclosure of the Indian manufacturer, the production timetable and intended customers. Until those details emerge, the announcement establishes Kalashnikov’s stated licensing commitment, while leaving the scale of Indian production and any eventual service deployment unresolved.
