The first arms manufacturing facility on the site was a gunpowder factory, which was started in 1787 by Tipu Sultan and began production in 1791, whilst a gun & carriage manufacturing facility was set up nearby in 1801.

The factory also manufactured the Vickers-Berthier (VB) light machine gun, which was adopted in 1932 by the Indian Army and still remains in reserve use.

[1] Military rifles manufactured at Ishapore 1949 and pre-1949 are stamped "GRI" on the buttsocket, referring to George Rex, Imperator (i.e. King George VI, last Emperor of India), whilst military rifles manufactured 1949 and post-1948 are stamped "RFI", which stands for Rifle Factory, Ishapore.

[citation needed] The factory was administered by the Ordnance Factory Board of India till 2021 when it was corporatised under the ownership of Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited.

[2] The .303 British calibre Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk III, the 7.62×51mm NATO calibre Ishapore 2A1 rifle and the 7.62mm NATO L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle were manufactured at RFI.