T65
- Category
- Assault Rifle
- Barrel
- 508 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.31 kg
- Introduced
- 1976
About
What it is, and why it matters
The T65 is a Taiwanese 5.56x45mm gas-operated assault rifle developed by the 205th Arsenal in the early 1970s and adopted by the Republic of China Armed Forces in 1976. It combines design elements of the M16A1 and the ArmaLite AR-18, replacing the M16's direct-impingement system with a short-stroke gas piston and rotating bolt for improved reliability in Taiwan's humid climate. The rifle uses STANAG-compatible 30-round box magazines and adjustable iron sights, and served as the standard infantry rifle of Taiwan until it was supplanted by the T86 and T91.
Taiwan developed the T65 indigenously after acquiring a license to produce M16-pattern rifles, deliberately re-engineering the gas system to suit the island's hot, humid conditions where early direct-impingement M16s had suffered reliability problems.
The short-stroke piston operation distinguishes the T65 from the direct-impingement M16 it was derived from. Later K-series variants adopted M16A2-style features and three-round burst.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- 205th Arsenal, Combined Service Forces
- Category
- Assault Rifle
- Country
- Taiwan
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1976 to 1997
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 508 mm
- Overall length
- 990 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.31 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 30
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Aluminum alloy
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Polymer
- Finish
- Phosphate
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 990 m/s
- Effective range
- 500 m
- Rate of fire
- 750 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Short stroke gas piston
Rotating bolt
Stanag magazine compatible
Iron sights
Fixed stock
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 158 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 3.31 kg | 3.60 kg | Lighter than about 70% |
| Overall lengthAmong 156 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 990 mm | 920 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 157 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 508 mm | 449 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 158 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 30 | 30 | Near the median |
Answers
Questions about the T65
How much does the T65 weigh?
The T65 weighs 3.31 kg (7.30 lb) empty.
What caliber is the T65?
The T65 is chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO.
How many rounds does the T65 hold?
The T65 holds 30 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the T65?
The T65 is 990 mm (39.0 in) long overall, with a 508 mm (20.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the T65?
The T65 is made by 205th Arsenal, Combined Service Forces (Taiwan). It was designed by 205th Arsenal, Combined Logistics Command.
When was the T65 introduced?
The T65 was introduced in 1976 and discontinued in 1997.
How does the T65 operate?
The T65 uses a gas operated action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Republic of China Armed Forces
- 1976
- Armed Forces of El Salvador
- El Salvador
- Guatemalan Armed Forces
- Guatemala
Provenance
Confidence in this record
82%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/t65-rifle' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "t65-rifle", "name": "T65", "manufacturer": { "id": "205th-arsenal", "name": "205th Arsenal, Combined Service Forces", "countryCode": "TW", "foundedYear": null, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:40", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:48", "version": "95cb447790e11c9ceb2bdb7d77ed215db5cb6e904c509efa3e073a91355d0158" }, "category": { "id": "assault-rifle", "name": "Assault Rifle", "description": "Selective-fire rifles chambered in intermediate cartridges" }, "country_of_origin": "TW", "year_introduced": 1976, "barrel_length_mm": 508, "weight_empty_g": 3310, "action_type": "gas_operated"}