38mm Riot Gun (Grenade Launcher) Series

Last updated: 3 March 2007

The 38mm riot gun (grenade launcher) series was developed by China North Industries Group Corporation (NORINCO) 208 Research Institute. These weapons were intended for uses by Chinese public security (police) forces and the People’s Armed Police (PAP) in riot control operations. The riot guns fire a range of 38mm non-lethal rounds from a smoothbore barrel to a range of 100~120m. The weapon first entered service in the early 1990s and widely equipped by the Chinese police and internal security forces.

38mm Single-Shot Riot Gun

The 38mm riot gun was first introduced by 208 Research Institute in 1989 and has been widely equipped by the police forces and internal security forces of the PAP since the early 1990s. The weapon was available in two variants: the long-barrel shoulder-fired riot gun and the short-barrel pistol riot gun. Both weapons are single-shot, with a break open, smoothbore barrel firing low-velocity non-lethal anti-riot rounds. The shoulder-fired version has a shoulder stock and a forward handgrip to provide greater control.

38mm Multiple-Shot Riot Gun

208 Research Institute began to develop a more powerful 6-shot 38mm riot gun in 2000. The weapon passed its design certification trial in 2005 and was design certified in 2006. A small number has entered police service for operational test and evaluation. The weapon is a multiple-shot weapon with significantly increased firepower compared to the traditional single-shot riot gun, making it an extremely effective against large groups of rioters.

The riot gun features a rotating revolver-style cylinder magazine with six chambers, capable of accepting all Chinese indigenous 38mm non-lethal riot-control grenades. The gunner manually rotates the cylinder 60 degree after each firing by pulling the forward handgrip. The rear of the cylinder (including the pistol grip) is hinged, and rotates perpendicular to the bore axis to expose the breech and allow loading and unloading of ammunition. After all six rounds are fired, the gunner unloads the cartridge cases by lowering the breech downwards and then manually reloads the riot gun.

Most components of the weapon including the rotary cylinder magazine and shoulder stock are all made from aluminium alloy, giving the weapon an empty weight of 3.6kg. The weapon uses a metallic sight assembly and has an effective range of 120m. The shoulder stock can be removed to further reduce its overall weight when high firing accuracy is not required.

Calibre: 38mm
Weight, empty: 3.60kg
Length: 750mm
Muzzle velocity: 60m/s
Maximum range: 110m
Firing: Single-shot
Magazine capacity: 6 rounds

38mm Under Barrel Riot-Control Grenade Launcher

208 Research Institute developed an under-barrel grenade launcher which can be attached to the barrel of a military issue 7.62mm or 5.8mm assault rifle. Unlike the military issue QLG91 35mm under barrel grenade launcher, which uses a rifled barrel to fire both lethal and non-lethal grenades, the 38mm grenade launcher has a smoothbore barrel to fire dedicated 38mm non-lethal grenades for police use. The weapon is intended to provide additional non-lethal firepower for standard PAP rifle squads without sacrificing the lethal firepower they are carrying.

The 38mm grenade launcher is a lightweight, single-shot, breech loading weapon capable of firing all standard 38mm non-lethal riot-control grenades to a maximum range of 120m. The launcher is available in two versions: Type-A designed for the Type 81 assault rifle and Type B designed for the Type 95 (QBZ95) assault rifle. The two versions are generally similar in design but with different attachment devices. The launcher can be attached to the rifle barrel without disassembling the rifle itself.

Vehicle-Mounted 38mm Multiple Grenade Launcher

The 38mm non-lethal grenades can also be fired from the vehicle-mounted multiple launcher. Mounted outside the riot control vehicle, the launcher has a group of three, six or nine launcher tubes to project the 38mm grenade to a maximum range of 100~150m.

38mm Riot Control Grenades

The 38mm non-lethal riot control grenade is available in several variants:

• Tear Gas (Explosion)
• Tear Gas (Smoke)
• Stun/Disorientation
• Rubber Buckshot (Kinetic Energy)
• Dye Marking
• Training Round

75% of the components on the 38mm riot control grenade are made from plastic. The grenade is in a cylinder shape, which is 37.5mm in diameter and 122.5mm in length. The grenade weights about 135g and has a maximum range of 130m (depending on the type of the launcher).

The Tear Gas grenade can generate 300 cubic metres of CS gas.

The Stun grenade can generate 164db of noise within 5m radius at the point of impact.

The training round is similar to the Explosion Tea Gar grenade in general ballistic character and generates explosion noise at the point of impact.