Three years ago, we broke the news that Beretta was working on a dual-caliber 7.62x51mm/7.62x39mm rifle, which reportedly would be available in 2013. This never came to pass, but Beretta apparently has continued work on the rifle, which has in common only the trigger group with its 5.56mm ARX-160 carbine. From Jane’s:

Beretta has revealed details of their new ARX-200 7.62×51 mm select-fire rifle for the Italian Armed Forces at Enforce Tac 2015 in Nuremberg.

According to officials the company has completed a couple of ARX-200 prototypes, which are currently undergoing qualification tests with the Italian Army.

The weapon is not based on the design of its predecessor, the ARX-160 assault rifle, but it does share some components including its trigger mechanism.

In 2014 the Italian Ministry of Defence (MoD) allocated EUR2.5 million (USD2.7 million) to Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta for the development of the new battle rifle. The Italian Armed Forces has announced a possible requirement for six batches of 1,170 rifles chambered in the NATO 7.62 cartridge.

As of yet, no pictures of the rifle are available, but as soon as they are, we will be sure to post them here at TFB.