Type-97 rifle

The Type-97 is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured by Arisaka in Akitsukuni, primarily for the Imperial Akitsukunese Marines. First revealed in a military parade in 1999, the rifle is believed to have been in service since 1997, hence its designation. It was designed and developed over a four-year period and was intended to replace the and other -derived rifles in the Akitsukunese Armed Forces use. However, it was rejected on cost grounds by the Imperial Akitsukunese Army, which preferred the, an upgraded version of the Type-74. On the other hand, the Imperial Marines believed that the rifle would be more conducive to the rapid, mobile warfare that the Marines carry out, and adopted the rifle as their main service rifle some time before 1999.

Many of its design features are directly intended to counter the weaknesses of the Type-74 as encountered operationally by some infantrymen. The rifle is being sold for export use aside from domestic use.

Design
The Type-97 is made of a rugged, high-impact polymer, with most of the manufacturing done by CNC machines, with ultrasonic welding for the steel-reinforced receiver halves and the gun barrel being cold hammer forged. It uses an identical operating system to the Arisaka family of rifles, retaining high reliability and familiarity for soldiers. The rifle also incorporates an armoured cheek plate and overpressure vent that protects the shooter in the event of a chamber explosion or catastrophic failure. The entire barrel assembly is essentially identical to the Type-74.

It is also the first Akitsukunese rifle to have installed as a standard, though later models for non-commander use omit these rails to save weight.

Operation
The Type-97 uses the same bakelite magazines as the Type-74 and its successors. The magazine well is located to the rear of the pistol grip, and the magazine is inserted front-first similar to the Type-74. The bolt locks open on an empty magazine, a feature copied from the Jeongmian M16. When the magazine is exhausted, it is removed by depressing the rear magazine release catch, identical to all other rifles in the Type-39 series.

The charging handle is located on the right side of the weapon. To chamber a round and charge the weapon, this handle is pulled fully to the rear and then released forward to bring a round into the chamber. It is then ready to fire. A safety button forward of the trigger guard is also included. The weapon may only fire in semi-automatic or fully automatic via a fire selector button on the stock.

Users

 * Akitsukuni: Imperial Akitsukunese Marines