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QLZ-87 (Type 87 Grenade Launcher)
A Type 87 grenade launcher mounted on a tripod on display in Beijing
Type	Grenade launcher
Place of origin	China
Service history
Wars	Chadian Civil War (2005–2010) Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile Somali Civil War Boko Haram insurgency Syrian Civil War Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)
Production history
Designer	Xiafeng Machinery
Designed	Mid-1980s
Manufacturer	Norinco
Produced	Late 1980s – present
Specifications
Mass	26 lb (12 kg) (base: optical scope & integral bipod, no magazine) 44 lb (20 kg) (including tripod mount)
Length	38 in (970 mm)
Cartridge	35×32mmSR grenade
Action	Air cooling, gas-operated (direct impingement)
Rate of fire	480 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	190 m/s (620 ft/s)
Effective firing range	600 m (2,000 ft)
Maximum firing range	1,750 m (5,740 ft) (tripod-mounted)
Feed system	6- or 15-round drum magazine
Sights	Iron sights 3x magnification optic Optic mounting rail for night vision or thermal sight

The QLZ-87 (also known as Type 87) is an air-cooled, gas operated 35×32mmSR automatic grenade launcher (AGL) that is crew transportable (12–20 kg (26–44 lb)) with limited amounts of ammunition. Unusual for handheld grenade launchers, the QLZ-87 fires high-velocity grenades of 35x32 mmSR caliber, which provides a longer range and flatter firing trajectory.

The QLZ-87 is being complemented by the QLZ-04, which is fed from a belt and thus is better suited to be mounted on tripods and vehicles.

Development

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Design

It can fire a variety of 35 mm grenades stored in the 6-or 15-round cartridge drum. The Type 87 is described by NORINCO as "Mini Infantry Artillery". The two most common types of grenades are the 35x32SR DFS87 HE (High Explosive) and DFJ87 HEDP (High Explosive, Dual Purpose) variants. The HEDP 35 mm grenade pierces armour up to 80 mm thick and produces fragments to kill or wound personnel within 5 meters of the point of impact. The HE 35mm grenade has a stated fragmentation casualty radius of 10–11 meters. The Type 87 can fire on a tripod or by using the bipod fixed on the barrel. It can also be mounted on armoured vehicles or helicopters. The launcher is capable of attacking low-flying air targets as well as targets on the ground.

Ammunition

The list of warhead types that are available for the 35×32mmSR Type 87:

• DFS-87 (Chinese: DFS-87杀伤弹): Anti-personnel fragmentation grenade with HE-Frag warhead.
• DFJ-87 (Chinese: DFJ-87破甲杀伤弹): Dual purpose, Armor-piercing grenade with HEAT warhead.
• DFR-87 (Chinese: DFR-87燃烧弹): Incendiary grenade.
• DFN-87 (Chinese: DFN-87杀伤燃烧弹): High-explosive fragmentation incendiary grenade.
• DFD-87 (Chinese: DFD-87烟雾弹): Smoke/marker grenade, with colored smoke.

Variants

• QLZ-87B/QLB-06: A newer handheld semi-automatic version of the QLZ-87. It features an aluminum receiver, redesigned action, new bipod, no tripod mount, and a conventional pistol grip and fire control. Weight is reduced to 9.1 kg (20 lb) and it is fed by a 4-round drum.

Users

•  Afghanistan
•  Bolivia
•  China: People's Liberation Army
•  Ethiopia Some locally made
•  Iraqi Kurdistan: Kurdish Peshmerga
•  Namibia
•  Niger
•  Pakistan: Used by Pakistan Army.
•  Somalia, some captured by the Shabaab.
•  Sudan: Known to be made as "ABBA" by MIC. The QLZ-87 is also used by Sudan-backed Chadian rebels and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North.
•  Tanzania
•  Uganda

Non-State Actors

• Hamas: Some allegedly seized from Hamas arms caches.
•  Syrian National Coalition

See also

• QLZ-04
• QLU-11, the replacement of the QLZ-87
• Type 91 grenade launcher

International:

• Milkor MGL – (South Africa)
• Neopup PAW-20 – (South Africa)
• Mk 19 grenade launcher – (United States)
• Mk 47 Mod 0 Striker – (United States)
• AGS-17 – (Soviet Union)
• AGS-30 – (Russia)

References

1. ^ Small Arms Survey (2014). "Weapons tracing in Sudan and South Sudan" (PDF). Small Arms Survey 2014: Women and guns (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 226. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2014.
2. ^ Yan 2014, p. 8
3. ^ Savannah de Tessières (January 2018). At the Crossroads of Sahelian Conflicts: Insecurity, Terrorism, and Arms Trafficking in Niger (PDF) (Report). Small Arms Survey. p. 58. ISBN 978-2-940548-48-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2018.
4. ^ Smallwood, Michael (29 April 2016). "Kurdish Forces with Chinese QLZ87 Automatic Grenade Launcher & M99 Anti-materiel Rifle". Small Arms Defense Journal. Vol. 8, no. 1. Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
5. "浙江先锋机械有限公司（国营第五三一六厂）". xian-feng.net. Archived from the original on 3 May 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
6. Yan 2014, p. 15.
7. ^ Yan 2014, p. 22.
8. Juanjuan Yang; et al. (15 May 2010). "Grenade Launchers in China (Upper)" (PDF). usgovcloudapi.net. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
9. "35x32mm Type 87 – Weaponsystems.net". weaponsystems.net. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
10. Small Arms Survey 2014, p. 240.
11. "QLZ-87 / W87 – Modern Firearms". modernfirearms.net. 28 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
12. Blasko, Dennis J. (17 June 2013). The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century. Routledge. p. 168. ISBN 978-1-136-51997-0. Archived from the original on 11 April 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
13. "QLZ87". weaponsystems. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
14. Yan 2014, p. 18.
15. QLZ87 Archived 22 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine Weapon Systems.
16. "QLZ-87". Guns' World. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
17. 35×32mm Type 87 Archived 22 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine Weapon Systems.
18. "QLB-06 / QLZ-87B – Modern Firearms". modernfirearms.net. 28 October 2010. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
19. Archived 18 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine Taliban Turns Insurgents into Commandos As It Builds 'Fully Capable' Army. 20 January 2022.
20. IDEX ABU 2017 Archived 23 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine Small Arms Defense Journal. 17 November 2017.
21. Swan, Melanie (5 January 2024). "Hamas using 'massive' stockpile of Chinese weaponry in Gaza, says Israel". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024.

Sources

• Yan, Timothy (August 2014). The Chinese QLZ87 Automatic Grenade Launcher (PDF). Arms & Munitions Brief 1. Armament Research Services Pty. Ltd. ISBN 9780992462420.

External links

• sinodefence.com

• Cold War weapons of China
• Grenade launchers of the People's Republic of China
• Automatic grenade launchers
• Military equipment introduced in the 1980s
• Norinco