The Republic of China (Taiwan) army’s new standard combat rifle, the T112, has entered mass production.
More than 25,000 T112 assault rifles have been procured by the country’s military.
According to Lieutenant Lee Chien-ting, involved in the research and development, of the T112 gun, is an entirely domestically developed and built rifle that features numerous improvements over the existing T91 and T65K2 models.
The barrel of the T112 rifle is polygonal and thickened compared with the T91 and T65K2 models, resulting in the T112’s improved accuracy of groups of 9.8 cm at 100 m compared to the T91’s groups of 14.5 cm at 100 m, Lee said.
The barrel also boasts a longer life expectancy of 10,000 rounds, compared with 6,000 rounds with previous models.
The selector lever, the magazine release button, and cocking handle latch are present on both sides of the T112 to allow easy access regardless of the user’s dominant hand, whereas, on the previous models, they are only present on one side, he said.
The Pic rail is built to international specifications to allow for greater freedom for mounting accessories such as grenade launchers, sights and laser aiming modules, which can now be mounted all along the rail according to the user’s needs, whereas on previous models these accessories can only be mounted on fixed positions, he said.
The foregrip contains a retractable bipod that snaps into place when needed, allowing the user to shoot at low postures, he said.
The magazine has a see-through case that allows the user to check the ammunition level at a glance and is made of a composite plastic material, making it more durable and less prone to jamming compared to the aluminium magazine on the T91 or T65K2, he said.
Furthermore, the tip of the steel flash suppressor comes with indentations, meaning it can be used as a melee weapon, a window breaker and a wire cutter, Lee said, adding that while such flash suppressors are only present on existing rifle models by request, they will be standard issue on the T112s.
