QJZ-89

The QJZ-89, also known as the Type 89 heavy machine gun, is a heavy machine gun designed in the People's Republic of China which fires the Soviet 12.7×108mm ammunition.

History
In the early 1980s, Chinese firearms designers had received scattered information from Soviet publications regarding the Soviet Union's adoption of the NSV machine gun. Due to a translation error, the Chinese weapons industry misinterpreted the 25 kg gun-only weight as the weight of the entire system. Astonished by the apparent capability of the NSV, Chinese designers began to develop a comparable weapon system. Only after the development had concluded did they realize the 25 kg weight figure did not include the tripod.

The weapon features a hybrid gas and recoil operated action. The gas system cycles the bolt group with the receiver recoils inside the outer gun housing to decrease peak recoil. The gun uses a direct impingement gas system, similar to Type 85 machine gun. Type 89 was named "lightweight heavy machine gun" due to its lightweight gun and tripod.

The gun and tripod together only weigh 26 kg, which is even lighter than the 32 kg Russian Kord machine gun on a bipod mount.

Design
The QJZ-89 has low weight through a combination gas/recoil action usually seen on autocannons, where gas unlocks the breech while recoil operates the feed and decreases the peak recoil forces induced on the housing and mount. Its direct impingement gas system is likely based from the Type 77.

China has reportedly developed 12.7 mm armor piercing discarding sabot (APDS) ammunition for the QJZ-89, similar to the U.S. saboted light armor penetrator (SLAP) rounds, increasing performance against light armored vehicles.

Users

 * 🇨🇳 China
 * 🇰🇭 Cambodia
 * 🇲🇳 Mongolia: Mounted on Dongfeng EQ2050 during Mongolian State Flag Day parade in 2022

Non-State Actors

 * United Wa State Army