Taiwan army to procure new rifles

A 5.56×45 mm XT112 assault rifle prototype showcased at TADTE 2023. The rifle has a firing range of 600 m. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)

The Republic of China Army (RoCA) will procure nearly 25,000 new 5.56×45 mm assault rifles called XT112 to replace in-service T65 and T91 assault rifles, a RoCA officer told Janes on 8 April.

The new rifles will be inducted into the RoCA by the end of 2025, the officer said.

The XT112 is developed by the 205th Arsenal of Taiwan Ministry of National Defense's (MND's) Armaments Bureau.

Lieutenant Colonel Yi-wei Li from the 205th Arsenal told Janes on 10 April that the length of the XT112 rifle is similar to the T91 rifle with a retractable butt-stock.

The rifle was first showcased at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition 2023 (TADTE 2023) in Taipei in September.

Frank Wang, the gun engineer from the 205th Arsenal, told Janes at the show that the barrel accuracy of the XT112 is 30% higher than the T91.

The XT112 has a firing range of 600 m and it can be fired in four shooting modes: safe, semi‐automatic, two‐round burst, and fully automatic.

The rifle is equipped with a 30-round magazine and features a polygon-thickened barrel, a multifunction tactical handguard, an aluminium alloy chassis, a muzzle brake, an integrated Picatinny rail, and a five-position adjustable telescoping stock.

Taiwan's Military News Agency quoted a spokesperson of the 205th Arsenal in a report on 7 April saying the XT112 “is developed using international tactical slide rail specifications and it can be equipped with grenade launchers and various optical sights and other accessories according to tactical needs”.

The rifle weighs 3.5 kg and is 940 mm in length with extended stock.