Istiglal Anti-Material Rifle

The Istiglal IST-14.5 Anti-Material Rifle (also known as the Istiglal) is a recoil-operated, semi-automatic anti-material sniper rifle developed by the Azerbaijani Defense Industry. The name Istiglal means Independence in Azerbaijani.

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-material rifle uses the powerful 14.5x114mm round.

It has been exported to the Turkish Armed Forces and the Pakistan Armed Forces.

Variants
Mubariz sniper rifle: A 12.7x108mm version of Istiglal 14.5mm anti-material sniper rifle introduced by Ministry of Defense Industry of Azerbaijan. The 12.7mm Mubariz sniper rifle is much lighter as compared to the Istiglal at 15 kg (33 pounds) with a five round magazine.

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.

Users

 * 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan: In use by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.
 * 🇵🇰 Pakistan: Used by the Pakistan Army; more planned to be procured.
 * 🇹🇷 Turkey: The Turkish Armed Forces is interested in importing the rifle and is having talks with the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. An unknown number of Istiglals were purchased. In April 2011, Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation of Turkey 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.
 * 🇯🇴 Jordan: Used by some Special Ops and SRR-61 Snipers.