The world’s most famous assault rifle is set to be made in Saudi Arabia.
Russia’s Rosoboronexport has struck an initial licensing agreement that could lead to the Kalashnikov being made in the Kingdom.
A Rosoboronexport statement said the agreement covered the “production of Kalashnikov AK103 assault rifles and cartridges for various purposes.”
The news came amid a raft of deals announced during King Salman’s landmark visit to Moscow.
Saudi Arabia signed on Thursday preliminary agreements to buy S-400 air defense systems and receive “cutting edge technologies” from Russia, the state-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) said.
These agreements are “expected to play a pivotal role in the growth and development of the military and military systems industry in Saudi Arabia,” SAMI said in a statement.
The Kalashnikov deal was confirmed by SAMI, Reuters reported.
The assault rifle is famed for its reliability in wars from Vietnam to Afghanistan.
There are reckoned to be at least 100 million AK-47s assault rifles in circulation.
The deal comes as the Russian rifle maker is seeking to attract private sector investment.
Kalashnikov wants to increase the production of arms by as much as 80 percent this year and create 1,700 jobs in the process.
The AK-47 was developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov after World War II, and was inspired by complaints he had heard from Russian soldiers about their rifles while he was recovering from a wound in 1942.
It has been the standard military issue rifle in Russia since 1949.

Source:Arabnews