Weapon Research and Development Plant, Weapon Production Center (WPC), Defense Industry and Energy Center (DIEC), Ministry of Defense of Thailand has testing prototype of domestic MOD2020 5.56mm assault rifles during late June to July 2022 at firing range of 2nd Infantry Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, Royal Thai Army (RTA) Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand.
The Series of Testing included endurance for continuous firing 6,000 rounds, soaking in mud and dry and dust and sand then firing, high humidity and soaked in 5% NaCl saline conditions for 10 days then test firing.
If certificated by Armament Standard Committee of Ministry of Defense of Thailand, MOD2020 to be production testing for 25 pilot rifles, followed lot 1 production line for 50 service rifles in mid 2023.
The developer's personal Facebook account has clarified that the latest MOD963 and MOD2020 rifles are not related to NARAC556 rifles of NARAC ARMS INDUSTRY (NRC) Thailand. After testing, it is expected that the first 50 guns will be produced in the middle of the year year 2023.
(AAG)