Seeking to align with Ministry of Defence self-reliance initiative in ammunitions sector, Adani Defence and Aerospace is stepping ahead to address the demand for medium and large calibre cartridges and shells from the armed forces, central armed police forces (CAPFs) and state police.

This is after producing 150 million rounds of small calibre ammunition of — 5.56 mm (used majority by Insas rifles), 7.62 mm (7.62×39 mm cartridge is used in the AK-47 and the newer AK-203 rifles, apart from 7.62x51mm NATO round is used in the Self-Loading Rifle (SLR) and the Machine Gun), .338 mm (sniper rifles) and 9mm (pistols) at its fully-automated Kanpur facility spread across 500 acre in the UP Defence Corridor.

Speaking to visiting journalists virtually, Adani Defence and Aerospace CEO Ashish Rajvanshi said, in December this year, we are doubling up the small calibre ammunition capacity to 300 million rounds. 

At the same time, he stated that the company will be inaugurating a complex across the existing one in Kanpur to manufacture 150,000 large calibre ammunition rounds annually or 12,000 per month, the same as government owned Munitions India Limited did in the last 75 years. 

According to him, Adani is also venturing into indigenising 125 mm anti-tank shells — Armour-Piercing Fin-Stablished Discarding Sabot (APFSDS). The Ministry of Defence is pushing for indigenisation of Russian-origin APFSDS to overcome imports in munitions after getting transfer of technology from Moscow. 

So far close to 90 per cent of ammunition is being manufactured in India, most of it largely by the MIL. “The 125 mm anti-tank ammunition is one of the most important deficiencies in the Indian military inventories standing today and we are working towards that,” he said.

Likewise, the Adani is equally focussed on medium caliber ammunition, said Rajvanshi, to meet armed forces demand and supply gap. The medium caliber ammunition armed forces use include 20mm, 25mm, 30mm, and 40mm rounds. Infantry fighting vehicles, anti-aircraft artillery, and aircraft and naval guns use such ammunition.

“We are the first to work on setting up a facility in India in the same complex across 23, 30, and 40 mm by next Diwali,” he said while narrating the company’s expansion plan.

On the orders received so far, he said that the company is already exporting ammunition to 4 countries and is supplying different category cartridges to armed forces, including 41,000 rounds of light machine guns to Indian Army, CAPFs and state police including to the UP.

Rajvanshi also stated that India is one of the largest importers of Primer and Propellant. Adani will be setting up a manufacturing plant to get rid of import dependence from US, and Europe, on Primer — a small explosive charge embedded within a cartridge case that ignites the gunpowder when struck by the weapon firing pin. And propellant are explosives.

He said that will also help bring down the cost of bullets. In 2019, the price per kg of propellant was less than $10 while it went up to $50 in 2025, the CEO briefed. The Adani group is committed to setting up a 25,000 tons per annum capacity over the next two years, and the work has already started, he informed.

Published on July 28, 2025