A new assault rifle being developed by the military is expected to finish combat readiness testing in August, the last phase before entering mass production, the Ministry of National Defense said on May 24.
Military spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) said the armed forces had been developing the new model since 2020 to make it lighter and give it a longer range in response to the needs of modern urban warfare.
The new assault rifle, called the XT112, is set to complete combat readiness testing this August, Sun told a news conference.
Photo: Screenshot from a Ministry of National Defense livestream
Sun said the military plans to gradually replace the aging rifles currently in use by the armed forces with the new model, but did not say when that would take place.
The Chinese-language United Daily News said a day earlier that the first batch of XT112 rifles are to enter service next year.
The military has a five-step weapon development process that includes an initial design, engineering development, initial testing and combat readiness testing before production
The military is set to purchase red-dot sights and advanced combat optical gunsight devices that can be installed on the new rifles to increase speed and accuracy in short and long-range engagements, he said.
Combat units are currently using T91 rifles produced by the 205th Armory of the Ministry of National Defense that have been in service for nearly 20 years.
The rifles are based on the T86 assault rifle, incorporating features from M16 and AR-18 rifles, but with modern features.
The nation’s reserve units use the older T65K2 rifles developed and manufactured by the Combined Logistics Command, and have been in service since the late 1970s.
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