QJS-161
The QJS-161 Paratrooper Machinegun is a Chinese light machine gun designed and manufactured by Norinco and Airborne Corps.
Development
The QJB-201 and QJS-161 are designed to replace China's QBB-95 series squad automatic weapon and QJY-88 light machine gun.Design
The QJS-161 features two types of barrel varied in length, presumably for different requirements from the PLA Ground Force and the PLAAF Airborne Corps.The QJS-161 features a weight reduction design, such as lightweight material for the gun body and the fabric detachable box magazine, reducing the empty weight to.
As an open-bolt machine gun, the QJS-161 uses 5.8×42mm ammunition that can feed either from a disintegrating belt in fabric container loaded into the feed port on the left side of the weapon, or a standard Chinese 5.8×42mm box magazine inserted vertically into the magazine well at the bottom of the weapon, and the non-reciprocating charging handle is located on its right.
The side-folding stock features a fully adjustable buttpad and cheek rest. The barrel change requires the opening of the feed tray cover, which is a safety feature ensuring ammunition is removed before barrel replacement process.
A picatinny rail is located behind the short feed tray cover above the feeding port.