The Istiglal IST-14.5 anti-materiel rifle (also known as the Istiglal) is a

recoil-operated Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used to implement locked breech, autoloading firearms. Recoil operated firearms use the energy of recoil to cycle the action, as opposed to gas operation or blowback operation using the pressure of the p ...

, semi-automatic

anti-materiel 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 elimin ...

sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel, anti-materiel and surveillance uses of the military sniper. The modern sniper rifle is a por ...

produced by Telemexanika zavodu, subsidiary of the

Ministry of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan The Ministry of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan Respublikasının Müdafiə Sənayesi Nazirliyi) is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Azerbaijan in charge of design, manufacturing, regulation and maintenance of products ...

History

Although developed in 2008, it was only revealed in 2009 during the International Defense Exhibition Fair. Its appearance has attracted a huge number of visitors. The Istiglal anti-materiel rifle uses the powerful

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, ...

round. It has been exported to the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...

and the

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...

Technical description

The Istiglal can be taken down into 2 separate components for easy transportation. The rifle is said to be operable in adverse weather such as rain and dirt with temperature ranges from 50 to -50 degrees Celsius.

Variants

Mubariz

A 12.7×108mm version of the Istiglal 14.5mm anti-materiel sniper rifle introduced by the Ministry of Defense Industry of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. The 12.7mm Mubariz sniper rifle is much lighter in comparison to the Istiglal at 15 kg (33 pounds) with a five-round magazine.

Users

* : In use by the

Azerbaijani Armed Forces The Azerbaijani Armed Forces ( az, Azərbaycan Silahlı Qüvvələri) were re-established according to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Armed Forces from 9 October 1991. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) had originally formed ...

. * : Used by the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

; more planned to be procured. * : The

is interested in importing the rifle and is having talks with the

. An unknown number of Istiglals were purchased. In April 2011,

Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation The Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation ( tr, Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi or MKE for short), established in 1950, is a reorganization of government-controlled group of factories in Turkey that supplied the Turkish Armed Forces with mili ...

announced that sniper rifle, which will be produced jointly, will differ much from the model that is being tested in Azerbaijan. Changes will be made in the design, weight and some systems of the weapon. The production of IST-12.7 sniper rifle in Turkey is the first military production transfer of Azerbaijan.

References