Norinco QBZ-95 and Norinco QBZ-97 Assault Rifle

Norinco QBZ-95 Assault Rifle This is a new Chinese weapon, based on a new round (5.8x42mm Chinese). This bullpup design was seen in 1996 during the turnover of Hong Kong to the Chinese PLA. Since then, it has been the subject of much conjecture from military and firearm sources. It has rarely been seen outside of China, and is believed to be currently under testing for adoption into the mainstay of the Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army. It is known that the weapon is quite capable of mounting the US-manufactured M-203 grenade launcher, leading to speculation that China is also developing a copy of that design. It is also reported that the QBZ-95 is capable of firing rifle grenades as well.

Norinco QBZ-95B

The Norinco QBZ-95 Assault Rifle is part of a family of weapons that include an assault rifle, a carbine, a squad automatic weapon, and a sniper rifle. As of 2002, the Norinco QBZ-95 Assault Rifle is usually only seen in the hands of Chinese troops in Hong Kong, or special operations troops. The QBZ-97 is the same weapon chambered for 5.56mm NATO ammunition; there have been no large-scale sales of the weapon, though Thailand is supposedly very interested, and Burma/Myanmar has bought small numbers of them. The QBZ-95 uses an 18.2-inch rifle; both the QBZ-95 and QBZ-97 Carbines have a 14.5-inch barrel. The QBZ-97 Assault Rifle has a 19.3-inch barrel.

Norinco QBZ-95A

Norinco has begun marketing the Norinco QBZ-97A version of the original QBZ-97, though this version has found no takers as of yet. The QBZ-97A has a bolt hold-open feature (something lacking on other versions), and uses a 3-round burst mode instead of having a full auto mode. Twilight 2000 Notes: The QBZ-95 is an extremely rare weapon; it is seen only in the hands of a very few Chinese special operations forces. The QBZ-97 does not exist in the Twilight 2000 world.

Norinco QBS-97

Though rarer than it is in the Notes, the QBZ-95 and QBZ-97 both exist, again mostly in the hands of special
ops troops. (It is simply cheaper to keep build and maintain parts for more traditional weapons than a novel new weapon with proprietary ammunition.) The Thais are using a surprising amount of QBZ-97s, and the Filipinos are also using them in small numbers. The Myanmars did not have the money to replace most of their stocks of existing weapons.