The most easily distinguishable feature is an exposed muzzle part of the barrel. The foresight moved back for a modification to fire rifle grenades from the barrel. There is a significant gap between the trigger guard and the magazine on Type 81 rifles, while on the Type 56 series the magazine is adjacent to the front of the trigger guard. The Type 81 rifle is a short-stroke gas-operated design, while the Type 56 are long-stroke designs. On Type 81 rifles the non-detachable spike-shaped bayonet was also replaced with a detachable knife-bayonet. The Type 81 can be fed from the older Type 56 30-round magazines, or from 75-round drums intended for the Type 81 light machine gun.
The Type 87 was replaced in PLA frontline service by the QBZ-95, a bullpup rifle chambered for the 5.8x42mm DBP87 cartridge, in 1995 and is now reserved for secondary forces, though rapidly being replaced also.
Unlike its predecessors, the Type 81 is a series of weapons. The Type 81 and Type 81-1 are assault rifles and the heavier Type 81 squad machine gun is used in the squad automatic weapon role.
The Type 81-1 is similar to the Type 81 but has a foldable stock. The Type 81 squad machine gun is heavier (5.15 kg), has a longer barrel, slightly higher rate of fire (700 rounds per minute), and fires from either the standard 30 round magazine or a 75 round drum. From field and combat results, the feedback from PLA and foreign users, the accuracy of the Type 81 is better than that of the license produced AK-47 and is closer to that of the American M16, but still retaining equal reliability. The Type 81 has been exported to various countries, primarily Asian and African.
Typer 81 Variants
A prototype called the Type 87 was introduced in the late 1980s. It served as a development platform for the next generation of PLA small arms, being used as a test-bed for the then new 5.8x42mm DBP87 ammunition. It never went into full-scale production but has been in service with PLA special forces.
The PLA is in the process of replacing the Type 81 with the Type 95 or Type 03 series of weapons, but full conversion is not expected until the mid-2010s.
- Type 81 (7.62 mm assault rifle with a fixed butt)
- Type 81-I (7.62 mm assault rifle with a foldable butt)
- Type 81 LMG 7.62 mm squad machine gun
- Type 81S (late production export version with fixed butt)
- Type 87-1 (5.8x42mm experimental assault rifle, used to develop and test 5.8 mm DBP87 cartridge for QBZ-95 rifle)
- Type 87 5.8 mm squad machine gun (prototype)
| Type 81 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Assault rifle |
| Place of origin | People's Republic of China |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1983–present |
| Used by | Algeria, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Malta, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan |
| Wars | Sino-Vietnamese War Sri Lankan civil war |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1971 |
| Variants | Type 81-1 Type 81 light machine gun Type-81S Type 87 Type 87-1 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 3.4 kg (7.5 lb) |
| Length | 955 mm (37.6 in) |
| Barrel length | 445 mm (17.5 in) |
| | |
| Cartridge | 7.62x39mm (Type 81) 5.8x42mm DBP87 (Type 87) |
| Action | Gas-operated, rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire | Approx. 650 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 720 m/s (2,362 ft/s) |
| Effective range | 500 m |
| Feed system | 30-round detachable box magazine, 75-round detachable drum magazine |
| Sights | Adjustable iron sights |
