QLZ-87

China's first indigenous automatic grenade launcher — a gas-operated 35mm weapon that provides squad-level suppressive fire and has proliferated across conflict zones from Sudan to Iraqi Kurdistan.

Overview

The QLZ-87, formally the Type 87 automatic grenade launcher, is a Chinese-designed, crew-portable automatic grenade launcher (AGL) that entered People’s Liberation Army service in the mid-1990s. It fires a proprietary 35×32mm high-velocity grenade from a drum magazine, delivering sustained suppressive fire against personnel and light armour out to about 600 metres, and serves as the baseline of China’s broad 35mm grenade ecosystem alongside later belt-fed and precision launchers.

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