More than 1,000 T91 assault rifles were sold in the US in a single day, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported, after the Ministry of National Defense began exporting the locally made weapon.
Made by the ministry’s 205th Armory, the rifles were exported through the US-based Wolf Performance Ammunition, the first Taiwan-made small arms to be sold commercially, the report, published on April 10, cited sources as saying.
An unnamed ministry official was quoted as saying that the rifle sold well in the US market because of its reliability and favorable price point.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The 205 Armory sold “several hundred million rounds” of 5.56mm ammunition to the US military to meet its combat needs during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the official was quoted as saying.
The armory’s ammunition acquired a reputation for quality and Wolf Performance Ammunition signed a contract with the ministry to import the rifles on its behalf, the official said.
To comply with laws and regulations of both countries, the rifles are shipped to the US unassembled and include only their major components, the barrel, receiver and handguard, the official said.
After arriving in the US, the importer assembles the components into upper receivers, which buyers can combine with privately purchased lower receivers to make a complete rifle, the official said.
Assembled T91 uppers are sold under the name Wolf A1 for US$599 and are compatible with lower receivers from any AR-15 rifle, such as the US military’s M16 or M4 carbine, the official said.
In the US, lowers and other components are often modified to comply with US states’, legal requirements, which can include bans on magazines with capacity exceeding 10 rounds or weapons capable of fully automatic fire, the official said.
Many US gun manufacturers are unfamiliar with the Taiwanese interest in military affairs, the official said.
Colt Manufacturing Co, the original M16 and M4 maker, relies on US military contracts for high-end weapons, which are not affordable for many gun buyers, the official said.
The opposite is true of many obscure gun manufactures who make cheap weapons and ammunition of poor quality, the official added.
The T91 is built to military specifications, so the quality of Wolf A1 uppers far exceeds its competitors in the same price range, the official said, adding that the alternative short-stroke piston rifle for US buyers is the Heckler & Koch HK416 and its uppers are sold for US$3,000.
The T91 descended from the T65, produced in 1976. The T65 resembles the M16, but has a tougher short-stroke piston system, the official said.
The T65 had initial flaws and in the 1980s it was phased out by the improved T65K2.
The T91 was improved and became standard-issue in 2002, the official said.
The Armaments Bureau was quoted as saying that contractual obligations do not allow it to confirm sales numbers, but the T91 had been given “highly positive” reviews in US-based gun magazines and Web sites.
Many Taiwanese Americans and Taiwanese citizens in the US have expressed interest in the T91, it said.
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS