QJY88 / Type 88 5.8 mm GPMG / SAW / LMG

The QJY88 or Type 88 machine gun was originally developed by China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) as a General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) to succeed the Type 67 GPMG.

Despite being originally developed to be a GPMG, the QJY88 in practice now fulfills the role of Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) / Light Machine Gun (LMG) in Chinese service. The QJY88 complements the lighter QBY88 with more sustained fire.

The gas-operated QJY88 can be operated by a single person or a crew of 2 and comes in two configurations:

• a light configuration fitted with a bipod
• the less common heavy configuration fitted with a tripod

The QJY88 is belt-fed or with 100 and 200 round box magazines. It also comes with a standard iron sight, but may also be fitted with an optional optical scope attached to the rail.
The QJY88 normally uses the 5.8x42 DBP88 or heavy round for increased range and penetration when compared to the standard 5.8x42 DBP87 round. It is to be replaced by the improved DBP10 round.

Specifications:
Crew: 1 or 2
Cartridge: 5.8x42 DBP88
Muzzle velocity: 895 m/s
Effective range: 800 to 1000 m
Weight: 7.6 kg (light configuration), 11.8 kg (heavy configuration)
Length: 1151 mm (light configuration), 1321 mm (heavy configuration)
Barrel length: 600 mm