NORINCO Type 81

History

The successor to the Type 56 assault rifle in service with the Chinese Army is the Type 81. With designs starting in 1971 and not being introduced until 1983, it took a while for the new weapon to gain a foothold in the PLA's inventory, and has since been billed as a replacement for the PLA's standard infantry assault weapon, from the QBZ-95 series in a bullpup configuration (detailed elsewhere on this site).

Several variants of the Type 81 gun appeared, building on the basic framework of the gun.

Due to China's exposure to Soviet military influence during the Cold War, the Type 81 took its form and function from the legendary AK-47 Kalashnikov line of weapons. Primarily used in the Soviet 7.62x39mm cartridge, it relied on a short stroke, pneumatic piston and rotating bolt breech. The overall length is 955mm and the barrel is 445mm long.

Weight is 7.5 lbs.

The weapon has a rate of fire of up to 720 rounds per minute and a muzzle velocity of 2,460 feet per second. The effective range is 280 meters and the maximum range is 520 meters.

It is fed from a standard curved 30-round detachable magazine or a 75-round drum and is fitted with iron sights and is capable of long-range fire.

Like other Kalashnikov-based systems, the Type 81 is equipped with a rectangular, almost featureless receiver with a charging handle on the right side (like the ejection port). Shoulder rests come in solid or skeletal form (the latter is a foldable design), and the two-piece handguard is located on the barrel/cylinder section in front of the receiver.

The barrel sits under the cylinder in true Kalashnikov style. The Type 51 series retains the bayonet support but has been modified, and other notable features include greater clearance between the trigger area and magazine well, revised stock shape, revised internal action, and a repositioned front sight.

The main Type 81 model has a fixed stock, while the Type 81-1 variant has a folding skeleton stock for compactness. There was also a light machine gun (LMG) for class suppression, the Type 81S was introduced to the US civilian market as a semi-automatic fire model, but was rare until 1989 - its European counterpart became the NR-81S.

Born as an offshoot of the Type 81 family, the Type 87-1's chamber accommodates a 5.8x42mm cartridge - which was used experimentally to test cartridges for the upcoming QBZ-95 rifle design. A squad support weapon version was also developed, but only as a prototype. The Type 81 Tactical became a dedicated variant of the Chinese special police force, while the NAR-10 was the tactical version for export.

The CS/LR14 is seen as a modernized Type 81, with extended accessory support through the included rail section and the addition of a tactical fore grip for improved two-handed operation.

Bangladesh produced a more advanced local Type 81 called "BD08MK2" with updated internal movements and improved sight support. Myanmar has produced the Type 81 "M23" to local requirements - this is in the Kachin K09, K010 and K011 models.

Other notable Type 81 operators include Algeria, Djibouti, Cote dIvoire, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Tanzania. It has seen combat action in the Sino-Vietnamese conflict, the Sri Lankan civil war and insurgents across Myanmar.

Specification

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

VARIANTS