XT-97 assault rifle
The XT-97 assault rifle is a 5.56mm assault rifle developed by the 205th Armory, Ministry of National Defense in Taiwan. It was first displayed in public during the 2009 Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition.
Design
The weapon is designed in Taiwan. The design departs significantly from the T65 assault rifle lineage with the bolt being based on the AK design. The stock is both retractable and foldable. Any optical scope/sight can be placed on the picatinny rails.Intended users of the XT97 rifle include infantry, airborne, marines, artillery, and mechanized/motorized vehicle crew.
No figures have been released on volume production.
Variants
XT105
The XT105 is a refined version of the XT97 released in 2015, the first unit off of the production line was gold-plated. It features interchangeable 300mm, 360mm, and 450mm barrels. The upper receiver is made from a single piece of extruded aluminum and the lower receiver is made of polymer. The stock features holes which can hold the rifle's takedown pins during field stripping.The 205th Factory stated that this gold-plated rifle was the first prototype ever made and holds commemorative significance, hence the special copper plating. No more gold-plated rifles of the same model will be produced in the future. However, XT105 rifles with camouflage paint were also on display, and the factory indicated that they could be painted according to customer requests in the future.