Deliveries of K-14 sniper rifles and observation devices to South Korean military completed

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on 26 January that deliveries of S&T Motiv K-14 sniper rifles and Hanwha Systems multifunctional observation devices to the Republic of Korea (RoK) Armed Forces have been completed.

South Korea’s DAPA announced on 26 January that deliveries of K-14 sniper rifles (pictured) and related observation devices to the RoK military have been completed. (DAPA)

The agency said that development of the 7.62 mm bolt-action, magazine-fed rifle, which has a claimed accuracy of 1.0 minute of angle (MOA) (about 3 cm at 100 m) up to a range of 1 km, was completed in 2012, with the first examples being handed over to special forces the following year.

The K-14, which is South Korea’s first indigenously designed and produced sniper rifle, was then distributed to RoK Army (RoKA) infantry battalion units from late 2017.

According to Hanwha Systems, the observation device features a built-in telescope, thermal-imaging camera, laser rangefinder, electronic compass, and GPS. DAPA says the user can spot a person from a distance of up to 2.5 km using the device’s daytime telescope.

For night-time operations the device’s thermal-imaging camera enables the user to distinguish a person from a distance of up to 1.5 km. The device can also be used in foggy conditions, according to the agency.