QBZ-191 New Chinese-made assault rifle carbine 5.8x42mm caliber

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During the Chinese army military parade that was held in Beijing on October 1, 2019, China has unveiled a new assault rifle which is developed by the No. 208 Research Institute of China Ordnance Industries, the developer of the QBZ-95 rifle, according to the China Central Television (CCTV).

QBZ 191 New Chinese made assault rifle carbine 5.8x42mm caliber 925 001
Chinese soldiers with a new assault rifle QBZ-191 at a military parade in Beijing, October 1, 2019. (Picture source FYSPD )

According to the Fire Arms Blog, the new rifle is named "QBZ-191", the design is similar to a standard carbine/assault rifle. This is a new way for the Chinese armed forces using the QBZ-95B, a bullpup-style assault rifle designed and manufactured by Norinco.

The rifle is highly reliable, feels comfortable to operate, shoots with very high accuracy and has less recoil, Li Xiang, a test marksman at the research institute, told CCTV, noting that the ergonomics of the weapon can better fit the battlefield.

According to our first analysis, the new Chinese assault rifle showcased at the Chinese military parade seems to be a conventional gas-operated short-stroke piston assault rifle. The new rifle has been designed in three variants, a carbine version with a 10.5 ″ barrel, an assault rifle with a 14.5″ barrel and there is also a longer barreled marksman rifle, some pictures were released on Twitter.

The design is very similar to modern assault rifles designed in Europe and United States with a full-length Picatinny rail on the top. The top of the weapon is also fitted with a new optic which seems very similar to red dot sight. Thanks to the optical design the red dot follows the movement of the user’s eye while remaining fixed on target, eliminating any need for centering. It has also a 4-position telescoping stock that can be folded.

According to Chinese sources, the new rifle is chambered in the standard 5.8x42mm caliber using a new type of rounds that have better performance on medium to long-range. It has an effective firing range of 300 m for the carbine version and 400 m for the assault rifle version with a rate of fire of 750 rpm (Rounds Per Minute).