TADTE 2023: Armaments Bureau unveils new 12.7 mm rifle

The 12.7 mm XT112 sniper rifle, pictured above from the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition 2023, features a detachable 10-round magazine and has an effective range of 2,000 m. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)

The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense's (MND's) Armaments Bureau has unveiled the 12.7 mm XT112 sniper rifle at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition 2023 (TADTE 2023) held in Taipei from 14 to 16 September 2023.

Under development by the 205th Arsenal, which is based in the southern city of Kaohsiung, the new rifle is a multifunction manually operated bolt‐action rifle.

According to the Armaments Bureau, the rifle features a detachable 10-round magazine and has an effective range of 2,000 m.

Lieutenant Colonel Yi-wei Li from the 205th Arsenal told Janes that the Republic of China Army (RoCA) has tested the rifle and the results are awaited.

The results will potentially be released by the end of this year and the rifle may go under mass production within the next three years, Lt Col Li said.

The rifle is equipped with the XTS112 Variable Magnification Sniperscope (VMS), which increases the accuracy of the rifle from 0.5 to 0.25 minute of angle (MOA), she added.

The VMS is designed for sniper shots and features an optical variable-focal-length design and has auxiliary reticle illumination and precise knobs for wind estimate and elevation adjustment, according to the bureau.

The magnification range of the VMS is between 5x and 25x and it weighs 1,300 g, the bureau added.

The rifle also has features such as a tactical handguard, an aluminium alloy lower body, and a muzzle brake.

Apart from the 12.7 mm XT112, the bureau also showcased 7.62 mm T108 sniper and semi-automatic sniper rifles.