The QJB-201 Squad Machinegun (Chinese:201式班用机枪;pinyin:Èr líng yāo shì Bānyòng Jīqiāng),, also known as the QJS-161 Paratrooper Machinegun (Chinese:161式伞兵机枪;pinyin:Yāo liù yāo shì Sǎnbīng Jīqiāng), is a Chinese light machine gun designed and manufactured by Norinco for the People's Liberation Army Ground Force and Airborne Corps.

Development

The QJB-201 and QJS-161 are designed to replace China's QBB-95 series squad automatic weapon and QJY-88 light machine gun. The weapon was developed in 2016, initially known as the paratrooper machine gun or QJS-161. In 2020, the weapon was certified with the designation QJB-201.

Design

The QJS-161 features two types of barrel varied in length, presumably for different requirements from the PLA Ground Force and the PLAAF Airborne Corps. As an open-bolt machine gun, the QJB-201 uses 5.8×42mm ammunition that can feed either from a disintegrating belt in fabric container loaded into the feed port on the left side of the weapon, or a standard Chinese 5.8×42mm box magazine inserted vertically into the magazine well at the bottom of the weapon. A non-reciprocating charging handle is located on its right. A picatinny rail is located behind the short feed tray cover above the feeding port.

The squad automatic machine gun features a weight-reduction design, such as lightweight material for the gun body and the fabric detachable box magazine, reducing the empty weight to 4.4kg (9.7lb). The side-folding stock features a fully adjustable buttpad and cheek rest. The barrel change requires the opening of the feed tray cover, which is am error-proofing feature ensuring ammunition is removed before barrel replacement process.

Variants

QJS-161

Paratrooper version. Initial version.

QJB-201

Regular version. Developed from the QJS-161

CS/LM20

Export designation for the QJB-201 in 5.8×42mm

CS/LM21

Export designation for the QJB-201 in 5.56×45mm NATO

Users

See also