Denel NTW-20

Created by noted South African gun designer Tony Neophytou, the NTW-20 is a bolt action anti-material rifle made in 20x82mm, 20x110mm, and 14.5x115mm. The weapon began as an idea to use the large quantities of surplus 14.5mm ammunition available at the time, and a recognition that the 14.5mm Soviet cartridge was an excellent anti-armour round, with a remarkably high muzzle velocity.

The NTW-20 is the largest and heaviest modern military rifle and one of the most powerful infantry weapons on the market. It is effectively the most powerful sniper rifle ever created, although technically it is classified as an anti-material rifle.

Though it was developed in record time, the South African government was comparatively slow to adopt the NTW-20, with the weapon finally entering service with the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) in 1998. The NTW-20 also changed brands twice during its production. It was originally a Mechem product, but that company was soon acquired by Denel, and the weapon is now produced by Truvelo (another Denel holding).

Design

The NTW-20 has a distinctive overall appearance. The receiver section is extremely long, and is rectangular in its side profile, with a rounded top and a flat underside. The rod-like damper protrudes far forward from the front of the receiver, below the barrel. The action is also exceptionally long, spanning two-thirds the length of the receiver, from the front of the ejection port to the end of travel for the bolt.

The long rifle barrel tapers slightly down to the muzzle, and it tips with a huge chevron-shaped muzzle brake with two square-shaped baffles on each side. Barrels for 20 mm versions of the NTW have no fluting, but 14.5 mm and .50 calibre barrels have deep grooves cut into them along their entire length, as a weight-reduction measure. The chamber cylinder is very wide, and a scope mount is fitted on top.

As originally manufactured, the NTW-20 was available in anodized black, matte dark grey, or matte olive colours; more finishes are now available, including a pale sand colour.

The NTW-20 is composed almost entirely of steel, with a forged barrel, a machined muzzle brake and receiver, and sheet steel furniture. A few components are made of composites to reduce the weapon's weight, such as the buttplate and pistol grip.

The NTW-20 is far too large and heavy to be carried in one piece by a single soldier over any useful distance, so the design team created a weapon that can be split into two halves, allowing a weapon team to split the load. The NTW-20 is thus easily the largest "take-down" rifle ever manufactured. Each half may be carried in its pack at a weight of around 15 kg each, allowing a 2-man weapon team to split the weight. The weight of the barrels, sighting equipment, ammunition, and so on is also divided among the weapon team.

Both of these cartridges are fed from a 3-round box magazine on the left side of the action. A single-shot version in the longer 20x110mm cartridge was also developed by request of a military client, but this cartridge is too long to fit the magazine. A version in .50 BMG was considered but decided against based on the 14.5mm being just as available and substantially more effective.

The gun is liberally sprinkled with clever engineering and design features – things like using the recoil-absorbing travel of the action to recock the hammer, and the use of both 20mm and 14.5mm cartridge cases as levers for unlocking the barrel. The optic was custom-made for the rifle, an 8x56mm long eye relief scope to prevent any chance of the scope bell injuring the shooter during recoil. The trigger mechanism uses only a single spring and is easily removed from the action. The bolt handle itself is on a pivot pin and provides the primary extraction leverage to ensure easy cycling with the high-pressure 14.5mm cartridge.

Development

The weapon was designed by Tony Neophytou (co-designer of the Neostead combat shotgun). 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.

Denel Land Systems was contracted to supply weapon systems for the Indian Armed Forces, including anti-materiel rifles and self-propelled howitzers. 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 (DRDO), began developing an indigenous anti-material rifle called Vidhwansak, which borrowed heavily from the Denel NTW-20.

When it became known in August 2013 that a South African Special Forces officer had used this weapon to make what was then the sixth-longest recorded sniper kill at 2,125 m (2,324 yd), it generated a lot of popular and media interest.

To widen the rifle’s capabilities, it was decided to incorporate an easily interchangeable barrel and also chamber it for the 20x82mm round used in the Inkunzi PAW individual weapon and Inkunzi Strike machine gun. The 20x82mm is low velocity compared to traditional 20mm cartridges, carrying the same explosive or incendiary payload but without the punishing recoil of what was originally an aircraft cannon cartridge.

In popular culture

In the 2009 film District 9, a Denel NTW-20 rifle is used to attack an alien mech suit.