QJY88 (Type 88) 5.8mm General Purpose Machine Gun

Last updated: 10 August 2007

The QJY88 (also known as Type 88) is the 5.8mm general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) developed by NORINCO in the late 1980s. The weapon was originally developed as a replacement for the Type 67 7.62mm GPMG currently in use with the PLA ground forces and People’s Armed Police (PAP) force. However, the 5.8mm calibre ammunitions was deemed insufficient in providing company-level fire support. As a result, the QJY88 is often being used as a light machine gun (LMG) below the company level.

The QJY88 was introduced in the late 1980s as a successor to the obsolete 7.62mm Type 67 GPMG. The machine gun adopted the 5.8mm calibre, which has become standard across the whole range of infantry weapons fielded by the PLA since then. By adopting the smaller calibre, the PLA hoped to bring two major benefits: reduced combat weight and simplified logistic support. However, many has questioned the effectiveness of the small calibre rounds used for the general purpose machine gun role. The has resulted in some serious delay in the fielding of the QJY88 machine gun.

By 2005/06, it appeared that the QJY88 finally entered operational service with the PLA. However, instead of being used to provide company-level fire support, the machine gun has been seen in many occasions being used as a light machine gun at lower levels. The weapon is operated by a two-man team, with the gunner operating the machine gun and the assistant carrying and feeding the ammunitions.

The Type 88 machine gun is an automatic, gas operated, belt-fed, crew-served machine gun. The weapon can either use as a light weapon mounted on a bipod, or as  a heavy weapon in a sustained fire role mounted on a tripod. The machine gun fires the 5.8 X 42mm “heavy rounds”, but can also fires the standard 5.8 X 42mm rifle rounds if necessary. The cartridge case is attached to the machine gun to enable firing while the gunner is moving. In addition to the iron sight, the machine gun can be fitted with optical or night vision sights for better accuracy.

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