The NTW-20 is a South African

anti-materiel rifle An anti-materiel rifle (AMR) is a rifle designed for use against military equipment, structures, and other hardware ( materiel). Anti-materiel rifles are chambered in significantly larger calibers than conventional rifles and are employed to elim ...

, developed by Denel Mechem in the 1990s. It is intended for deployment against targets including parked aircraft, telecommunication masts, power lines, missile sites,

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

installations, refineries,

satellite dish A satellite dish is a dish-shaped type of parabolic antenna designed to receive or transmit information by radio waves to or from a communication satellite. The term most commonly means a dish which receives direct-broadcast satellite televisio ...

es, gun emplacements,

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

s, and personnel, using a range of specialised projectiles.Kokalis, Peter: ''Weapons Tests And Evaluations: The Best Of Soldier Of Fortune'', page 223. Paladin Press, 2001. As with other weapons of this type, it can also be used for counter sniping and

ordnance disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the militar ...

(shooting explosive ordnance from a safe distance).

Development

The weapon was designed by Tony Neophytou (co-designer of the

Neostead The NeoStead 2000 (NS2000) is a bullpup combat shotgun developed by Truvelo Armoury of South Africa. Production of the shotgun began in 2001 and the first models were made available in October of that year. It is notable due to its unusual forw ...

combat

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub- pr ...

). Development of the system began in August 1995 under the "Aerotek" name and a working prototype was ready for testing four and a half months later. This rapid progress was made possible by Neophytou's expertise in the field of recoil reduction systems, having worked on helicopter turrets in the past. To further reduce the amount of research and development, the project recycled the barrel, bolt and barrel extension of the existing Vektor GA1

automatic cannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bulle ...

.Kokalis, 224 It was put into production by

Denel Land Systems It was formerly Lyttelton Engineering Works (LIW - from af, Lyttelton Ingenieurswerke), a subsidiary part of the commercial network from Armscor. It then became the ''Systems'' division of the ''Land Systems Group'' of Denel. They are responsib ...

in two versions; 20 x 110 and 20 x 82. The latter model is also available in 14.5 x 114 and conversion between the calibres can be done in the field by swapping the barrel and bolt assembly. The significantly larger 20 x 110 model cannot be converted to another calibre. The rifle was accepted into service with the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...

in 1998..

Features

Switching between the two calibres of the NTW (

20×82mm 20 mm caliber is a specific size of popular autocannon ammunition. It is typically used to distinguish smaller-caliber weapons, commonly called "guns", from larger-caliber "cannons" (e.g. machine gun vs. autocannon). All 20 mm cartridges h ...

and

14.5×114mm The 14.5×114mm (.57 calibre) is a heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle cartridge used by the Soviet Union, the former Warsaw Pact, modern Russia, and other countries. It was originally developed for the PTRS and PTRD anti-tank rifles ...

) requires changing the bolt, barrel, sighting gear and magazine. (A third variant, the NTW 20×110mm has been developed, but is not designed for barrel calibre switching.) Caliber switching the NTW 20/14.5 can be accomplished in the field without specialised tools. The magazine protrudes from the left side of the receiver. The NTW can be disassembled and packed into two backpacks for carriage. A

muzzle brake A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral to the construction of, the muzzle or barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of propellant gases to counter recoil and unwanted ...

is fitted on the end of the barrel which absorbs an estimated 50%–60% of recoil. This is further supplemented by a buffered slide in the receiver.

Variants

Influence

was contracted to supply weapon systems for the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by th ...

, including anti-materiel rifles and

self-propelled howitzers Self-propelled may refer to * Human-powered transport, humans moving themselves (and their cargo) via their own muscle energy * Machines that power their own movement: ** Automobile (from ''auto-'' + ''mobile'', "self-moving") ** Locomotive (from ...

. However, following allegations that it had paid kickbacks to secure a deal for anti-materiel rifles, Denel was blacklisted by the Indian government. Subsequently, the Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli (OFT), in association with the

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...

(

DRDO The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...

), began developing an indigenous anti-material rifle called

Vidhwansak Vidhwansak ( Sanskrit: "The Destroyer") is an Indian multi-caliber anti-materiel rifle (AMR) or large-caliber sniper rifle manufactured by Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli. It can be used in the anti-materiel role for destroying enemy bunkers, lig ...

, which borrowed heavily from the Denel NTW-20. The development of Vidhwansak was completed in November 2005. The embargo against Denel was lifted in 2018 after investigations found the allegations to have been false.

In popular culture

*In the 2009 film ''

District 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction mockumentary film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New ...

'', a Denel NTW-20 rifle is used to attack an alien mech suit.

References

Bibliography

External links

NTW 20 anti-materiel rifle 20 x 82 mm

NTW 20 anti-materiel rifle 20 x 110 mm HS

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denel Ntw-20 14.5×114mm sniper rifles 20 mm artillery Bolt-action rifles 20mm sniper rifles Post–Cold War weapons of South Africa Rifles of South Africa Denel Anti-materiel rifles Single-shot rifles Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1998