View source for Engineering:QLZ-87 grenade launcher

{{Short description|Type of Grenade launcher}}
{{Infobox weapon
|name=QLZ-87 (Type 87 Grenade Launcher)
|image= Type 87 Grenade Launcher.jpg
|image_size= 300
|caption=A Type 87 grenade launcher mounted on a tripod on display in Beijing
|origin= China
|type=[[Engineering:Grenade launcher|Grenade launcher]]
<!-- Type selection -->
|is_ranged=yes
<!-- Service history -->
|service=
|used_by=
|wars= {{plainlist|
* Chadian Civil War (2005–2010)<ref name="SAS 2014 p226">{{cite book|url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2014/en/Small-Arms-Survey-2014-Highlights-EN.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805164422/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2014/en/Small-Arms-Survey-2014-Highlights-EN.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 August 2014|chapter-url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2014/en/Small-Arms-Survey-2014-Chapter-7-EN.pdf|chapter=Weapons tracing in Sudan and South Sudan|title=Small Arms Survey 2014: Women and guns|publisher={{wipe|Cambridge University Press}}|year=2014|author=Small Arms Survey|pages=226|ref={{harvid|Small Arms Survey 2014}}}}</ref>
*Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile<ref name="SAS 2014 p226"/>
*Somali Civil War<ref name=":0"/>
*Boko Haram insurgency<ref name="Savannah"/>
*Syrian Civil War<ref name=":0"/>
*Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)<ref name="sadj29april16"/>}}
<!-- Production history -->
|designer=Xiafeng Machinery<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.xian-feng.net/index.htm |title=浙江先锋机械有限公司（国营第五三一六厂） |website=www.xian-feng.net |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503004005/http://www.xian-feng.net/index.htm |archive-date=3 May 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|design_date=Mid-1980s
|manufacturer=[[Company:Norinco|Norinco]]
|unit_cost=
|production_date=Late 1980s – present
|number=
|variants=
<!-- General specifications -->
|spec_label=
|weight=26&nbsp;lb (12&nbsp;kg) (base: optical scope & integral bipod, no magazine)<br />44&nbsp;lb (20&nbsp;kg) (including tripod mount)
|length=38&nbsp;in (970&nbsp;mm)
|part_length=
|width=
|height=
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->
|cartridge=35×32mmSR grenade
|action=[[Physics:Air cooling|Air cooling]], gas-operated ([[Engineering:Direct impingement|direct impingement]])
|rate=480 rounds/min
|velocity={{convert|190|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}
|range={{convert|600|m|abbr=on}}
|max_range={{convert|1750|m|abbr=on}} (tripod-mounted)
|feed=6- or 15-round drum magazine
|sights=Iron sights<br />3x magnification optic<br /> Optic mounting rail for [[Physics:Night vision device|night vision]] or thermal sight{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=15}}
}}
{{close paraphrasing|article|source=[http://www.armamentresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Arms-and-Munitions-Brief-No.-1-QLZ-87-Automatic-Grenade-Launcher.pdf The Chinese QLZ87 Automatic Grenade Launcher by Timothy Yan]|free=no|date=January 2019}}

The ''' QLZ-87'''{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=22}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ndiastorage.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/ndia/2010/armament/WednesdayLandmarkBJuanjuanYang.pdf|access-date=28 April 2023
|title=Grenade Launchers in China (Upper)|website=usgovcloudapi.net|date=15 May 2010|author=Juanjuan Yang|display-authors=et. al.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://weaponsystems.net/weaponsystem/BB01+-+35x32mm+Type+87.html|title=35x32mm Type 87 - Weaponsystems.net|website=weaponsystems.net}}</ref> (also known as Type 87{{sfn|Small Arms Survey 2014|p=240}}) 35×32mmSR automatic [[Engineering:Grenade launcher|grenade launcher]] (AGL)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://modernfirearms.net/grenade/ch/qlz-7-w7-e.html|title=QLZ-87 / W87 - Modern Firearms|date=28 October 2010|website=modernfirearms.net}}</ref> is an [[Physics:Air cooling|air-cooled]], gas operated<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sinodefence.com/army/crewserved/qlz87.asp |title=QJZ89 (Type 89) 12.7mm Heavy Machine Gun - SinoDefence.com |access-date=2013-06-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602100436/http://www.sinodefence.com/army/crewserved/qlz87.asp |archive-date=2 June 2013 |df=dmy-all }} Sino Defence, QLZ87 35mm Automatic Grenade Launcher</ref> [[Engineering:Automatic firearm|fully automatic]] weapon and is crew transportable ({{convert|12-20|kg|abbr=on}}) with limited amounts of ammunition.<ref name="Blasko2013">{{cite book|last=Blasko|first=Dennis J.|title=The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G1SauJF3GqwC&pg=PA168|date=17 June 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-51997-0|page=168}}</ref> Unusual for handheld grenade launchers, the QLZ-87 fires high-velocity grenades of 35x32 mmSR caliber, which provides longer range and flatter firing trajectory.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://weaponsystems.net/system/905-QLZ87 |title=QLZ87 |website=weaponsystems }}</ref>

The QLZ-87 is being complemented by the [[Engineering:QLZ-04|QLZ-04]], which is fed from a belt and thus is better suited to be mounted on tripods and vehicles.{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=18}}

==Development==
[[File:Type 87 grenade launcher 20220203.jpg|thumb|QLZ-97 in bipod configuration]]
The Chinese military began research into grenade launchers during the 1980s. They started off by examining American weapons captured in the Vietnam War including the [[Engineering:40 mm grenade#40×46 mm LV (40 mm Low Velocity)|40×46mm]] single-shot [[Engineering:M79 grenade launcher|M79]] and [[Engineering:M203 grenade launcher|M203]]. They were also familiar with the hand-cranked [[Engineering:Mk 18 Mod 0 grenade launcher|Mk 18]], as well as the [[Engineering:40 mm grenade#40×53mm|40×53mm]] [[Engineering:M75 grenade launcher|XM75]] and [[Engineering:Mk 19 grenade launcher|Mk 19]]. China also obtained samples of the Soviet 30×29mmB [[Engineering:AGS-17|AGS-17]] captured by the [[Religion:Mujahideen|Mujahideen]] during the [[Religion:Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet–Afghan War]].{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=11}}

The Hua Dong Industrial Academy’s Mechanical Research Institute, a state-controlled civilian organization that carried out China's AGL development, concluded that such foreign weapons were too large and heavy to be man-portable and did not fit within doctrinal deployment plans for the system. They also had problems with each sides' ammunition; the U.S. grenade's advanced primer ignition (API) operating principle was less reliable than desired, and the Soviet grenade was too small to contain an effective high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead, so the team compromised on a 35×32mmSR.{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=11}}

After five generations of prototypes, the team created a design designated the W87.{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=11}} The W87 featured a [[Engineering:Blowback (firearms)#Roller-delayed|roller-delayed blowback operation]] and fired from a closed bolt for better accuracy. It could be top-loaded from 6- and 9-round box magazines or a 12-round [[Engineering:Drum magazine|drum magazine]]. A bipod was included for quick deployment and it could be tripod-mounted. The 35×32mmSR grenades had an aluminum case and round nose. The W87 and its ammunition were revealed in a presentation at a small arms development conference hosted at Aberdeen Proving Ground in September 1988.{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=12}} After some redesigns, the AGL was accepted into Chinese military service as the QLZ-87 in the mid-1990s.{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=13}}

==Design==
[[File:Advance contingent of AMISOM troops deployed in Baidoa 04 (7213736522).jpg|thumb|Ugandan soldiers of the African Union Mission in Somalia armed with a QLZ-87 in light configuration]]
[[File:AMISOM & Somali National Army operation to capture Afgoye Corridor Day 5 10 (7325748768).jpg|thumb|A Type 87 grenade launcher pintle-mounted on an African Union vehicle]]
The QLZ-87 is in fact a derivative of the Type 85 heavy machine gun, featuring a similar tubular steel receiver, direct gas impingement operation, and flap locks (derived from the Degtyarov-Shpagin system featured on the DShK machine gun). It is magazine-fed from 6- or 15-round drums from the bottom; in order to make room for ammunition to be fed from the bottom, the fire selector controls are mounted on the right side and offer safe, semi-automatic, and automatic firing modes.{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=13}}

The grenade launcher retains the bipod of the W87 and weighs the same at {{convert|12|kg|abbr=on}} with an {{convert|8|kg|abbr=on}} tripod, though the new tripod has articulated legs and a crank elevation adjustment. Its carrying handle is an external part of the bolt group, which is cycled by redirected propellant gas as part of the operating system, but unlike the [[Engineering:M16 rifle|M16 rifle]] propellant gasses are not vented into the receiver; it also functions as the charging handle and forward assist.{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=13}}

Once the bolt group starts to recoil, remaining gasses are immediately vented outward, and spent cases are ejected directly upwards. To manage recoil the weapon has a large, twin-port [[Engineering:Muzzle brake|muzzle brake]], thick rubber butt pad, and an internal buffer to the rear of the bolt group, but recoil is still harsh and only semi-automatic fire is viable when not mounted.{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=14}}

While American and Russian AGLs are heavy, crew-served tripod-mounted weapons employed at battalion-level, the QLZ-87 in its "light" configuration can be used by one soldier from the shoulder or bipod as a company-level support weapon. In this configuration, it is typically fired semi-automatically and fed from the 6-round drum. In its "heavy" configuration (which includes the tripod) it is carried by a crew of three and can make effective use of the 15-round drum and fully automatic fire. Like heavier AGLs it can be pintle-mounted on vehicles, but troop feedback indicates mounted magazine reloading is both difficult, and frequent because of the low ammunition capacity.{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=7}}<ref name="weaponsystemsqlz87">[http://weaponsystems.net/weaponsystem/BB02%20-%20QLZ87.html QLZ87] ''Weapon Systems''.</ref>

===Ammunition===
The 35×32mmSR grenade was also redesigned for the QLZ-87, giving it a shorter overall length with a tapered, flat-nosed projectile housed in a semi-rimmed aluminum case. It weighs roughly the same at {{convert|250|g|oz}} and has a slightly faster muzzle velocity of 190&nbsp;m/s; a 6-round drum weighs {{convert|1.3|kg|abbr=on}} empty and {{convert|2.8|kg|abbr=on}} loaded, and a 15-round drum weighs {{convert|2.3|kg|abbr=on}} empty and {{convert|6|kg|abbr=on}} loaded.{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=16}}

The two most common types of grenades are the DFS87 high explosive (HE), which has a fragmentation warhead with a casualty radius of ({{convert|10-11|m|abbr=on}}), and the DFJ87 high explosive dual purpose (HEDP), which has a [[Engineering:Shaped charge|shaped charge]] warhead that can penetrate {{convert|80|mm|abbr=on}} of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) which striking flat or {{convert|35|mm|abbr=on}} of RHA at a 60° angle with a secondary {{convert|5|m|abbr=on}} fragmentation casualty radius.{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=16}} Although both these rounds have better anti-personnel and armor-piercing effects individually than U.S. 40&nbsp;mm HEDP, their specialization makes them less suited for defeating a different target set, so ammunition type would have to be changed to effectively engage a different target type.<ref name="weaponsystemsqlz87"/><ref>[http://weaponsystems.net/weaponsystem/BB01%20-%2035x32mm%20Type%2087.html 35×32mm Type 87] ''Weapon Systems''.</ref>

Initial production of both models featured a fragmentation liner consisting of small steel balls suspended in a polymer matrix, but later the HE projectile used a pre-fragmented wire coil jacket and the HEDP projectile used a steel upper casing to produce fragments, both for cost savings. They have an inertia-armed fuze in the nose permitting a safe arming distance of {{convert|12-30|m|abbr=on}} from the muzzle. Other available 35&nbsp;mm cartridges include the DFR87 incendiary, DFN87 high-explosive incendiary (HEI), and DFD87 smoke.{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=16}}

The list of warhead types that are available for the 35×32mmSR Type 87:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pewpewpew.work/china/gl/qlz87/qlz87.htm |title=QLZ-87|website=Guns' World}}</ref>
* '''DFS-87''' ({{zh|DFS-87杀伤弹}}): Anti-personnel fragmentation grenade with HE-Frag warhead.
* '''DFJ-87''' ({{zh|DFJ-87破甲杀伤弹}}): Dual purpose, Armor-piercing grenade with HEAT warhead.
* '''DFR-87''' ({{zh|DFR-87燃烧弹}}): Incendiary grenade.
* '''DFN-87''' ({{zh|DFN-87杀伤燃烧弹}}): High-explosive fragmentation incendiary grenade.
* '''DFD-87''' ({{zh|DFD-87烟雾弹}}): Smoke/marker grenade, with colored smoke.

==Variants==
* QLZ-87B/QLB-06:{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=22}} A newer handheld semi-automatic version of the QLZ-87.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://modernfirearms.net/grenade/ch/qlb-06-qlz-7b-e.html|title=QLB-06 / QLZ-87B - Modern Firearms|date=28 October 2010|website=modernfirearms.net}}</ref> It features an aluminum receiver, redesigned action, new bipod, no tripod mount, and a conventional pistol grip and fire control. Weight is reduced to {{convert|9.1|kg|abbr=on}} and it is fed by a 4-round drum.{{sfn|Yan|2014|p=22}}

==Users==
<!--READ FIRST: This section is for cited entries only. Please do not add entries into this list without a citation from a reliable source. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.-->

[[File:QLZ-87 Users.png|thumb|Map with QLZ-87 users in blue]]

* {{flag|Afghanistan}}<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcr685vTIfA] ''Taliban Turns Insurgents Into Commandos As It Builds 'Fully Capable' Army''. 20 January 2022.</ref>
* {{flag|Bolivia}}<ref name=":0" /><ref name="sadj29april16">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=3533|title= Kurdish Forces with Chinese QLZ87 Automatic Grenade Launcher & M99 Anti-materiel Rifle|magazine=Small Arms Defense Journal|volume=8|issue=1|date= 29 April 2016|first=Michael |last=Smallwood }}</ref>
* {{flag|China}}: People's Liberation Army
* {{flag|Ethiopia}}<ref name=":0" /> Some locally made
* {{flag|Iraqi Kurdistan}}: Kurdish Peshmerga<ref name="sadj29april16" />
* {{flag|Namibia}}<ref name=":0" />
* {{flag|Niger}}<ref name="Savannah">{{Cite report|language=en|title=At the Crossroads of Sahelian Conflicts: Insecurity, Terrorism, and Arms Trafficking in Niger|author= Savannah de Tessières|isbn = 978-2-940548-48-4|publisher= [[Organization:Small Arms Survey|Small Arms Survey]]|url = http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/U-Reports/SAS-SANA-Report-Niger.pdf|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180612184751/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/U-Reports/SAS-SANA-Report-Niger.pdf|url-status = dead|archive-date = 12 June 2018|date = January 2018|page = 58}}</ref>
* {{flag|Pakistan}}: Used by Pakistan Army.<ref name=":0">{{harvnb|Yan|2014|p=8}}</ref>
* {{flag|Somalia}}, some captured by the [[Religion:Al-Shabaab (militant group)|Shabaab]].<ref name=":0" />
* {{flag|Sudan}}: Known to be made as "ABBA" by MIC.<ref>[http://www.sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=4132 IDEX ABU 2017] ''Small Arms Defense Journal''. 17 November 2017.</ref> The QLZ-87 is also used by Sudan-backed Chadian rebels and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North.<ref name=":0" />
*{{flag|Syrian National Coalition}}<ref name=":0" />
* {{flag|Tanzania}}<ref name=":0" />
* {{flag|Uganda}}<ref name=":0" />

===Non-State Actors===
* HAMAS: Some allegedly seized from HAMAS arms caches.<Ref>https://archive.today/20240105182833/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/01/05/hamas-stockpile-chinese-weaponry-gaza-israel-investigates/</ref>

==See also==
*[[Engineering:QLZ-04|QLZ-04]]
*QLU-11, the replacement of the QLZ-87
*[[Engineering:Type 91 grenade launcher|Type 91 grenade launcher]]

'''International:'''
*[[Engineering:Milkor MGL|Milkor MGL]]
*[[Engineering:Neopup PAW-20|Neopup PAW-20]]
*[[Engineering:Mk 19 grenade launcher|Mk 19 grenade launcher]]
*[[Engineering:Mk 47 Striker|Mk 47 Mod 0 Striker]]
*[[Engineering:AGS-17|AGS-17]]
*[[Engineering:AGS-30|AGS-30]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
* {{cite book|last1=Yan|first1=Timothy|title=The Chinese QLZ87 Automatic Grenade Launcher|date= August 2014|publisher=Armament Research Services Pty. Ltd.|isbn=9780992462420|series=Arms & Munitions Brief 1|url= http://www.armamentresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Arms-and-Munitions-Brief-No.-1-QLZ-87-Automatic-Grenade-Launcher.pdf}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080604070741/http://www.sinodefence.com/army/crewserved/type87grenade_35mm.asp sinodefence.com]



[[Category:Automatic grenade launchers]]

{{Sourceattribution|QLZ-87 grenade launcher}}