Norinco CQ


The Type CQ is an unlicensed Chinese variant of the M16 rifle manufactured by Sichuan Changqing Machine Works, a subsidiary of Norinco. According to the Norinco website, the rifle is officially known as CQ 5.56. CQ stands for ChangQing, the name of its manufacturer.

History

began manufacturing weapons that were captured during the Vietnam War from the Americans and their allies after North Vietnam, Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao forces handed it over to them and as well as other communist allies such as Warsaw Pact and North Korea for evaluation.
The CQ was first introduced in the early 1980s. This weapon is chambered for 5.56×45mm cartridges and it was intended for export sales. Two variants of the CQ rifle were made: the CQ 5.56, also known as the CQ-311 or CQ M-311, the select-fire variant for Military/LE sales; and the CQ M311-1, the semiautomatic version for the civilian market. Later, a carbine variant was introduced, called the CQ 5.56mm Type A. The semi-auto sport rifle has been successful in the civilian market.

Design

The CQ is a gas-operated, rotating-bolt full-automatic firearm that feeds from factory-made 20- or 30-round magazines, firing the M193 "Ball" 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge. The Type CQ rifle has a three-position fire selector: safe, single shot, and full-automatic fire.

Accessories

According to the manufacturer's website, the Type CQ assault rifle can be equipped with an under-barrel grenade launcher.

Differences

Though it has the same look as the M16 rifle, there are some modifications to various parts.
The Type CQ rifle, in both its military/LE and civilian variants, has a 1:12 rifling pitch which allows it to properly stabilize the M193 "Ball" variant of the 5.56 mm ammunition or the Type CJ Chinese clone, as well as any .223 Remington commercial cartridge variant that can be stabilized by the 1:12 pitch rifling barrel.
Type CQ is chambered in "5.56×45mm NATO", but it will not optimally stabilize the NATO standard 5.56mm ammunition, which requires a 1:9-1:7 pitch rifling barrel due to a bullet weight of.

Variants

CQ 5.56

Also known as the CQ-311 or the CQ M-311, the CQ is the select-fire assault rifle version intended for military and police use.
The weapon sports a barrel with a 1:12 rifling twist.

CQ 311-1

Also known as the or the CQ M311-1, this rifle is the civilian version of the military model.
The CQ M311-1 is manufactured with a semi-automatic only trigger group, and the selector switch only has two positions, for safety and fire. The 1:12 barrel rifling allows the rifle to properly shoot and stabilize light .223 Remington commercial cartridges and the military surplus 5.56×45mm M193 "Ball" ammunition widely available on the market.

CQ A

This variant introduced in the year 2006 in several defense expos worldwide is a copy of the American M4A1 carbine.

CQ-D

The CQ-D is an export-specific automatic rifle of the CQ family, featuring upgraded Picatinny rails and foregrip and offered by the China Jing An Import & Export Corp, with reference to the Heckler & Koch HK416.

CS/LM11

The squad automatic weapon was unveiled in 2010 at foreign weapons expo conventions, made by Huaqing Machinery Company. It can fire both SS109 and M193-based 5.56 NATO ammunition. It is an offshoot of the CQ, with improvements made to barrel from 6,000 to 12,000 rounds fired.

Foreign production

Armada rifle

The Armada rifle is a clone of the Norinco CQ manufactured by Shooter's Arms Manufacturing or S.A.M., also known as Shooter's Arms Guns & Ammo Corporation, headquartered in Metro Cebu, the Philippines.
S.A.M. launched the Armada rifle in 2009, making it available to local government units and/or active law enforcement and military agencies in the Philippines and abroad. The Armada is a select-fire rifle manufactured in forged aluminum, uses a barrel with a 1:9 right-hand twist, Norinco CQ-style plastic parts, flip-up rear sight adjustable for windage, front post sight adjustable for elevation, and feeds by STANAG magazines. The total weight of the weapon unloaded is claimed to reach, with an overall length of.
A carbine version of the Armada rifle, similar to the Norinco CQ 5.56mm Type A, has also been launched under the name of Trailblazer.

DIO Model S-5.56

In the year 2003, the Defense Industries Organization of Iran began marketing the S-5.56 rifle, an unlicensed clone of the Type CQ. It is also known as SRAG-15. It was first unveiled in the West in 2001.
The S-5.56 was originally designed for export sales, but has been shown in use by Quds Force, the special forces of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
The rifle itself is offered in two variants. The S-5.56 A1 with a barrel and 1:12 pitch rifling, optimised for the use of the M193 Ball cartridge. The S-5.56 A3 with a barrel and a 1:7 pitch rifling, optimized for the use of the SS109 cartridge.

Civilian sales

The CQ M311-1 was first available in the North American market in 1987, when only 500 units were sold before the import was halted; reasons for this halt are stated to be several by many sources: the restrictions applied in the United States since 1989, a copyright infringement lawsuit from Colt against Norinco or an agreement between the two companies.
The CQ M311-1 semiautomatic rifle was available in Canada until it was reclassified as a Prohibited Firearm on May 1, 2020, while any further import into the United States still remains impossible due to legal restrictions.
A semi-automatic version of the CQ-A carbine was available on the civilian market for sports shooters in Canada, Italy, Ukraine, and South Africa.

Operators

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