ADEX is the Azerbaijan International Defense Exhibition held in the capitol of Baku, Azerbaijan. The Azeris began work on a 14.5mm and 12.7mm anti-material rifle back in 2008 and having it enter service in 2009. This was the Istigal 14.5 and 12.7mm semi-automatic rifle. I would assume that the Azeris ran into the accuracy problem that so many large caliber semi-automatic rifle manufacturers have encountered. Thus at ADEX 2016, the Azeri Ministry of Defense showcased their new bolt action, magazine fed, 14.5mm NST rifle. It weighs 20 Kg, has an maximum range of 2000 meters, and a maximum effective range of 1600 meters. The scope and muzzle brake are both designed locally in Azerbaijan. The scope looks to be a variable power optic, with an extremely large elevation turret to account for adjustments out to the ranges listed under the specifications.

There certainly is a trend in the Syria conflict to push the man portable anti-material rifle out to 14.5mm. This is mostly done out of necessity from the ample supply of ZPU barrels around. Most other armies like to call the 12.7mm or .50 BMG the limit to man portable small arms.

The original Istigal in 14.5mm.

And the current versions in 14.5mm and 12.7mm.

The other precision rifle introduced is the bolt action .308 Winchester/ .338 Lapua “Vashaq” (Lynx). It appears that this is the Azeri response to the success of the PSR competition in the United States, albeit without the .300 Win Mag conversion ability. The rifle appears to be more based off of Accuracy Internationals entry with the sloped handguard. In addition, the pistol grip is an AR configuration. Keymod rails, with a Nightforce scope.

Before the Vashaq, there was the Yalguzag, only available in .308 Winchester, with a folding front sight, picatinny rails and much more of a design correlation with Accouracy International’s AX series. I realize there is a slight difference between the two rifles below, but generally they appear to be of the same model.

Then there is the SCAR-esque variant that looks to be a 7.62x54R mm Draganov magazine semi-automatic Designated Marksmans rifle. This has the name “Yirtijl”, and has a barrel that looks far too long.