New Sniper Rifle/Assault Rifle
Taiwan's T112 Variants Replace T91/T65 and New Sniper Rifle to Arsenal
Those interested in Taiwan’s MPC weapons/equipment capabilities please consult the 500-page Taiwan Army Weapons and Equipment, including the Marine Corps.
ABOVE: Top - Sniper Rifle/Bottom - Assault Rifle; credit Military News Agency under the Ministry of National Defense.
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15 April 2024
New Sniper Rifle/Assault Rifle
Taiwan's T112 Variants Replace T91/T65 and New Sniper Rifle to Arsenal
By Wendell Minnick (Whiskey Mike) 顏文德
TAIPEI - Taiwan’s military has begun production of two new rifles, 5.56mm T112 combat rifle and a 12.7mm T112 sniper rifle, by the 205th Arsenal under the Materiel Production Center (MPC) of the Armaments Bureau.
It is confusing, no doubt, as to why they are both designated as T112 rifles, as they are different calibers and different configuration.
Taiwan uses the Minguo calendar, which begins with Year 1 (1912) with the establishment of the Republic of China.
So, for example, the T112 assault rifle will replace the 5.56mm T91 and T65K2 assault rifles.
112 = 2023; 91 = 2002; 65 = 1976. The “T” is Taiwan-made. Sometimes Taiwan uses the prefix “CM” for China-made in reference to R.O.C. Best example is the CM-32 Clouded Leopard Armored Personnel Vehicle.
25,000 upgraded assault rifles will begin delivery next year and an unknown number of sniper rifles will begin delivery later this year.
A source inside the Ministry of National Defense said the military wants to rid itself of the T65s and that the new T112 is not all that different from the T91. Therefore, the T91s will be the last of the rifles phased out.
The T112 assault rifle has a tactical slide rail and can be equipped with a grenade launcher and various optical sights.
The barrel is polygonal and thickened compared with the T91 resulting in improved accuracy of groups of 9.8 centimeters at 100 meters compared to the T91's 14.5 centimeters at 100 meters.
Compared to the T91, the barrel has a longer life expectancy of 10,000 rounds, compared with the T91s 6,000 rounds.
The selector lever, the magazine release button, and cocking handle latch, are ambidextrous. Whereas, the T91 was designed for right-handed users.
The fore grip has a retractable bipod and the magazine has a transparent case that allows the shooter to know the quantity. The magazine is a composite plastic, less prone to jamming than the aluminum magazine of the T91.
The barrel’s steel flash suppressor has indentations allowing for use as a window breaker and wire cutter, not to mention as a melee or pell-mell used in close-quarter combat.
The selector lever is configured for single or full automatic. It also has the option of bursts of two rounds, instead of three, due to U.S. military data extracted during recent wars in the last 20 years, resulting in more effective accuracy during combat and reducing ammunition waste.
According to the Armaments Bureau, the bolt-action T112 sniper rifle has an effective range of 2,000 meters, a multi-functional tactical handguard, aluminum alloy chassis, a repulser, and an adjustable gunstock and cheekpiece to accommodate different shooting styles.
Despite local media reports, this is not the first MPC sniper rifle produced.
In 2008, the Marine Corps procured 179 of the 7.62mm T93 bolt-action rifles manufactured by the 205th. 93 = 2004. Later versions included a 10-round magazine.
Other 7.62mm sniper rifles in Taiwan’s arsenal include:
Remington M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) Bolt-Action.
Heckler & Koch PSG1 Semi-Automatic.
SIG Sauer SSG 2000 Bolt-Action.
And the more recent Barrett M82A1M .50 Caliber recoil-operated, semi-automatic sniper rifle used as an “anti-materiel” weapon.
According to the Chinese-language print Military Weapons System of R.O.C. Armed Forces previous sniper rifles were deployed with special operations units: Aviation Special Forces Command, Army’s Airborne Special Service Company, Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion 101 (Army), Amphibious Reconnaissance Group (Marine Corps - x2 Battalions or “Patrols”/ARP 1/2), Military Police Special Service Company (MP SSC), and National Security Bureau’s Special Service Center (NSB - SSC/originally trained by Blackwater to protect the President).
On a side note, the latest 9mm T75K3 ACP handgun, an update from previous versions (K1/K2), recently malfunctioned resulting in an investigation on quality control issues at the 205th. 75 = 1986.