Modern Firearms - NTW-20 Sniper Rifle (original) (raw)

Sniper rifles - Introduction
Large caliber rifles
Austria
Steyr IWS 2000
Steyr .50 HS
China
M99
M99B / M06
Croatia
RT-20
Czech republic
Falcon
France
PGM UR Hecate II
Germany
DSR 50 new
Great Britain
AI Arctic Warfare .50
AI AS50
Russia
SVN-98
KSVK 12.7
OSV-96
VSSK Vychlop
South Africa
Truvelo .50
Mechem NTW-20
Switzerland
OM 50 Nemesis
USA
M500 M600 M650
Armalite AR-50
Barret M82
Barret M90 & M95
Barret M99
Barret XM500
McMillan TAC-50
Yugoslavia
Black Arrow M93

Standart caliber rifles
Austria
Steyr SSG
Steyr Scout Tactical
Unique Alpine TPG-1
Belgium
FN 30-11
FN Police Rifle
FN FNAR new
Brazil
IMBEL Fz.308
China (People Republic of)
QBU-88
Czech Republic
CZ 700
Finnland
Saco TRG
France
FR F2
PGM Ultima Ratio
PGM Mini-Hecate .338
Germany
HK PSG-1
HK MSG-90
Walther WA2000
Mauser SP66
Mauser 86SR
Mauser SR-93
Blaser 93 Tactical
DSR-1 upd
SSG-82
Erma SR-100
GOL-Sniper
Great Britain
Enfield L42A1 & Enforcer
Parker-Hale M82
AI Arctic Warfare / L96
AI AE
Israel
Galil sniper
TEI M86-SR
Italy
Beretta sniper
USA
Barret M98
Armalite AR10(t)
M21
Remington 700
M24
M40
SR-25, Mk.11 mod.0, XM110
Savage 10FP & 110FP
RAI / RAP model 300
FN SPR
CheyTac Intervention
Kel-tec RFB
VR1 PSR
FN FNAR new
USSR / Russia
Dragunov SVD
SVU and SVU-A
VSS
SV-98
SV-99
VSK-94
SVDK
Switzerland
SIG SG550 Sniper
Sig-Sauer SSG 2000
Sig-Sauer SSG 3000
SIG STR/SHR 970
B+T APR 308
B+T APR 338
Yugoslavia
Zastava M76

all texts and some pictures
copyright © 1999-2008
by Max R. Popenker
and can not be used without author permission

Contact E-Mail
ICQ:

Mechem NTW-20 (South Africa)

NTW-20 anti-materiel rifle, with 20mm barrel

NTW-20 with 14.5mm barrel

NTW-20 disassembled into major components

This rifle was designed in the early to mid 1990s by South African arms designer Tony Neophytou, who also took its part in designing the Neostead combat shotgun. Initial development was under the Aerotek name, and later the Mechem division of the DENEL Group, a major South African arms manufacturer, purchased all rights for this design. In the 1998 South African National Defense Forces adopted this weapon and began to purchase it in some numbers. It is also offered for export sales. The NTW-20 is a long range anti-materiel rifle, developed to reach out across wide plains of South African landscape and to deliver substantial firepower in a relatively compact, two men portable package. It is available in two versions, 20mm and 14.5mm, and could be easily converted from one variant to another by simple replacement of the barrel, bolt, magazine and scope, which will take about 1 minute in the field conditions. These two versions had slightly different applications: 20mm version, built around WW2-era German MG-151 aircraft gun round, can deliver high explosive, fragmentation or incendiary shells with good accuracy, so a relatively "soft" targets could be disabled by the blast and / or fragments. When the long range and armor penetration is an issue, the 14.5mm version comes into the play. It is built around another WW2-era round, Soviet 14.5mm high velocity, armor-piercing cartridge, developed for PTRD and PTRS anti-tank rifles and still widely used in Russian KPV / KPVT heavy machine guns on armored cars and in anti-aircraft mounts. While probably not so accurate as the specially developed .50BMG (12.7x99mm) rifles, mostly due to unavailability of the "match grade" ammunition in the 14.5mm and 20mm, NTW-20 offers significantly more terminal effectiveness than any .50BMG rifle / round combination. 20 mm version could be most effective against targets like parked aircrafts and helicopters, command and communications equipment, radar cabins, fuel dumps, unarmored cars. 14.5 mm version will be more effective against armored personnel carriers or relatively large "soft" targets at extended ranges. Anti-personnel work is by no means a primary task for this huge rifle.

NTW-20 is a manually operated, rotating bolt action rifle. The barrel is locked by the rotating bolt that has 6 lugs. The barrel along with the receiver could recoil inside the chassis frame against combined hydraulic and pneumatic damping system. Large two-chamber muzzle brake also helps to keep recoil at the acceptable level. NTW-20 is fed from the detachable box magazine, that is inserted from the left side and holds 3 rounds. The rifle could be disassembled and carried in two man-portable packs, each weighting about 12 - 15 kg. One pack carries the frame, stock, butt and bipod while the other carries the barrel, sighting equipment
and magazines. NTW-20 is equipped with a 8X magnification, long eye relief telescopic sight on the quick detachable mount. No open sight are fitted by default. The folding bipod is mounted under the receiver, and a non-folding frame above the receiver serves as a carrying handle and a scope protection bracket.

--