Overview of Turkey’s Assortment of AR-Pattern Rifles

As covered in an earlier Silah Report article, over 65,000 5.56 x 45mm rifles have been delivered to Turkish security forces, according to the head of Turkey’s Presidential Defense Industry, İsmail Demir. With 65,000 rifles being a substantial number of AR-15 patterned rifles, it is fair to infer that this trend will continue and succeed the primary platforms currently in Turkish service like the license-built MKE HK33s and G3A3s. In this article we will examine some of the most prominently used AR-15 patterned rifles currently in use with Turkey’s police and armed forces.

The most numerous of the 5.56×45mm AR type weapons systems entering Turkish service is the MPT-55 rifle which was developed by MKE in Turkey, effectively a scaled down version of the 7.52×51mm MPT-76 self-loading rifle. In the past, Turkey sourced foreign 5.56×45mm chambered AR platforms for its security agencies. Polis Özel Harekât, Turkey’s police tactical unit, purchased a sizable amount of SIG 516 5.56×45mm rifles and appears to be their primary service rifle. Turkish Army Özel Kuvvetler Komutanlığı special forces operators sport German imported HK 416A5s, as well as older M110 SASS self-loading rifles, in their distinctive green brown color scheme

These samples of AR-15 pattern rifles are only a few that have been introduced. Companies such as Sarsılmaz and Kalekalip have provided Turkish law enforcement and military agencies with more AR pattern rifles produced domestically. The decision to usher in domestic AR platforms was ostensibly influenced in part by restrictive sanctions placed on the Turkish government affecting further procurement and maintenance of its current selection of foreign arms, such as the HK 416. Aside from MKE’s MPT-55, it will be of interest to more closely examine the domestically made and issued AR platforms made by Kalekalip and Sarsılmaz.

Kalekalip is a defense and aerospace manufacturing company and is one of the manufacturers contracted by MKE to produce MPT-76 rifles for the Turkish Armed Forces. Kalekalip also has a series of their own AR rifles called the KCR family of rifles. KCR rifles run on a gas piston system and fire at around 750-900 rounds per minute. It is available in three barrel lengths: 14.5 in. (368mm), 11 in. (280mm), and 7.5 in. (190mm). KNT rifles are chambered in both 5.56×45mm and 7.62×39mm, designated as the KCR556 and the KCR739 respectively. Turkish Jandarma (Turkey’s Gendarmerie General Command) has been documented using KCR556 rifles in the 11 in. configuration since 2018, in either black or tan color schemes offered from the factory. 

Sarsılmaz has also provided Polis Özel Harekât units with their SAR 223P rifles. Feedback of the initial SAR 223Ts proved to be unsatisfactory, so the SAR 223P was developed using the input from the special police teams who field-tested the SAR 223T.

Both the 223Ts and 223Ps come in 10.5 in. (266mm) and 14.5 in. (368mm) barrel lengths and fire at 700-900 rounds per minute. The SAR 223P has a slightly longer overall length at 900mm as opposed to the 223T model being 880mm, though the biggest difference is their respective gas system. SAR 223T rifles operate on a delayed blowback action and its 223P counterpart utilizes a gas piston system. Currently only Police Special Action agents field Sarsılmaz rifles.

One thing that is interesting to note is Turkey’s preference for gas piston AR rifles over the traditional direct impingement actions used in US AR-15/M16/M4 type rifles. Overall, seeing Turkish arms manufacturers adding AR-15 platforms will be interesting to observe in the future. Whether the rifles are MPT-55s or KCR556s, it is clear to see that the Turkish security forces are preparing to have these rifles succeed the roller delayed blowback HK33 and G3A3 self-loading weapons that have been a mainstay with Turkish forces for decades. Though with any military procurement process, time will tell as to when all of Turkey’s roller delayed series will be fully succeeded in service and we look forward to charting how this transition will develop.

If you enjoy our work here at Silah Report please consider supporting us on Patreon!