T86 Rifles Triple Stands on Ground 20111105

The T86 (聯勤 Type 86) rifle is a

gas-operated Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, Semi-automatic firearm, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the Cartridge (firearms), cartridge being fired is used t ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

-fed,

assault rifle An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', F.A. Moyer '' ...

. It is the second original rifle design conducted by the 205th Armory of

Combined Logistics Command The Combined Logistics Command () was a division of the Republic of China Ministry of Defence. It was established in 1946, formerly known as Joint Service Headquarters, then referred to as the Combined Logistics Headquarters, responsible for the ...

of the

Republic of China Armed Forces The Republic of China Armed Forces ( zh, t=中華民國國軍) are the national military forces of the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC), which is now based primarily in the Taiwan Area but Republic of China (1912–1949), formerly governed Mai ...

. Though it saw limited production and service after a protracted development process, it became the basis of the T91 currently in volume production for the Taiwan armed forces.

History

Development of the T86 started in 1992, with the stated objective of replacing the venerable T65 series. Several radical concepts, such as caseless ammunition, were explored but ultimately rejected due to high risk. Still, the XT86 prototype revealed to the public in 1996 demonstrated several innovative features and significant departure from US influence in firearms design. However, the ROC military was more confident in the tried-and-true T65 design, and instructed the 205th Armory to redesign the rifle. The XT86 pre-production model rolled out in 1997 showed a return to the T65's features, especially the T65K3 carbine. The T86 design was finalized in 1998, and officially named the 5.56 mm T86 Combat Rifle (5.56公厘T86戰鬥步槍).

Design

The finalized T86 design is an evolution of the T65 series. It inherits the short-stroke gas piston operated system from the T65 as well as the rotating bolt design. Upper and lower receiver are made with aircraft-grade aluminum. The side-folding metal stock on the prototype was replaced with an

M4 carbine The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively used by the US mi ...

style polymer telescopic stock and buffer mechanism. The polymer handguard from the prototype was retained. The controls of the T86 are similar to the T65 and

M16 The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-round magazine. In 1964, th ...

. The T86 has a 4-position selector with safe, semiautomatic, three-round burst, and automatic settings. Like the T65K2, the T86 utilizes an M16A2-style front post/rear peephole sight. The rear sight is adjustable for windage and elevation. One notable difference is that the T86 does not have a

forward assist Forward assisting is the practice of moving the bolt or bolt carrier of a firearm fully forward ''in battery'' when the return spring has not done so (or there is a chance that it will not have done so) to prevent out-of-battery firing. It is ...

, and the brass deflector is shaped differently. The T86 has a barrel with flash suppressor. The rate of rifling twist is one twist in . The bore is chrome-lined and the T86 can fire all

5.56×45mm NATO The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, commonly pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, ...

standard ammunition. Magazines used by the ROC military feature two protrusions on each side to avoid over-insertion, but standard

STANAG magazine A STANAG magazine or NATO magazine is a type of detachable firearm magazine proposed by NATO in October 1980. Shortly after NATO's acceptance of the 5.56×45mm NATO rifle cartridge, Draft Standardization Agreement ( STANAG) 4179 was proposed i ...

s are compatible. The T86 is modular and can be field-stripped without using special tools. The gas piston system and the trigger assembly can be removed as complete assemblies for maintenance, reducing the risk of losing small parts.

Accessories

A picatinny rail is provided on the carrying handle for an optional scope mount. The T85

40 mm grenade This is a general collection of the world's many types of ammunition for grenade launchers in caliber. Several countries have developed or adopted grenade launchers in 40 mm caliber. NATO NATO currently uses three standardized 40 mm grenad ...

launcher may be mounted on the T86.

Production and usage

Contrary to initial expectations, the ROC Army and

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

did not order T86 carbines in large quantities. Defense budget priorities during the late 1990s forced the ROC military to delay the replacement of T65K1 and T65K2 assault rifles. A small quantity of T86 did enter service with the

ROC Navy The Republic of China Navy (ROCN, Chinese, 中華民國海軍) , colloquially known as the Taiwanese Navy ( Chinese, 台湾海军) by Western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military Navy ( Chinese, 國軍海軍) ...

Underwater Demolition Team and underwent rigorous trials in widely varied environmental conditions. Jordanian royal guards and special troops are reportedly armed with Taiwanese-made T86 carbines.中華民國軍方證實國造T86步槍及T91步槍銷往約旦 (T86 & T91 sold to Jordan confirmed by ROC army)

Users

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Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

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References