QLG-10

China’s standard under-barrel grenade launcher — a muzzle-loaded, single-shot, rifled 35×32mm caseless design that gives the PLA infantry squad an integral high-explosive, airburst and anti-light-armor effect on the QBZ-95-1 and QBZ-191 rifle families.

Overview

The QLG-10 (and the improved QLG-10A) is the organic under-barrel grenade launcher of the People’s Liberation Army, issued as a standard fitting on the QBZ-95-1 bullpup and the modular QBZ-191 rifle systems. It is a single-shot, muzzle-loaded, spin-stabilized launcher chambered for the indigenous 35×32mm caseless grenade family — an ecosystem China deliberately separated from NATO’s 40×46mm and Russia’s 40mm caseless standards, mirroring its independent small-arms caliber strategy. A companion non-lethal launcher, the Type 91 (QLG-91), fires a distinct 35×115mm round from a similar under-barrel mount.

Development

China fielded its first under-barrel grenade launcher, the Type 91, in the 1990s primarily for riot-control and breaching missions. The need for a dedicated high-explosive launcher following the adoption of the QBZ-95 rifle led NORINCO to develop the QLG-10, which entered service around 2010 as part of the QBZ-95-1 improvement program. The design was revealed publicly alongside the wider family of Chinese 35mm grenade launchers, as explained in a 2010 NDIA presentation by Juanjuan Yang that outlined the PLA’s move toward a unified 35mm ammunition architecture (NDIA). The QLG-10A variant later extended the capability to the QBZ-191 rifle series, maintaining ammunition commonality across the infantry squad.

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