Type 81 Chinese 7.62mm Assault Rifle

The Type 81 ("Type 81 Automatic Rifle") is a Chinese-designed second-generation, selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm rifle (based on Kalashnikov and SKS actions) adopted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) and has been in service since the mid-1980s. The Type 81 incorporates elements of the Dragunov, SKS, and AK series rifles. The design criteria it met included accuracy of 1.78 inch R50, that is 50% of the hits within a 1.78 inch diameter at 100 meters; improved controllability in full-automatic; the same reliability of the AK but a longer service life to approximately 20,000 rounds; and able to use existing AK and SKS production tooling at the time. The rifle retains the general layout of the Chinese Type 56 assault rifle, but it has a SKS-like short-stroke gas-piston design and other improvements to reduce recoil and muzzle jump, giving better firing accuracy. Notable physical differences from the Type 56 assault rifle include the stock of the rifle, the length of the action, bayonet, and the positioning of the front sight. The most easily distinguishable feature of the Type 81 is the more exposed muzzle part of the barrel. The front sight has been moved back as a modification to be able to fire 22mm rifle grenades, which are slid over the unobstructed barrel muzzle now formed into a spigot-type rifle grenade launcher. There is a significant gap between the trigger guard and the magazine on Type 81 rifles, while on the Type 56 rifle series the magazine is adjacent to the front of the trigger guard. The non-detachable swing-out spike-shaped bayonet of the Type 56 rifle was also replaced on Type 81 rifles with the detachable Type 81 knife-bayonet. Like its predecessors, the Type 81 is a series of weapons. The Type 81 (fixed stock) and Type 81-1 (folding stock) are 7.62×39mm caliber assault rifles with 30-round magazines, and the heavier Type 81 light machine gun (LMG) fitted with a 75-round drum magazine is used in the squad automatic weapon (SAW) role. Its sight remains at the front of the LMG barrel. The Type 81 can be fitted with a Picatinny rail, bipod, foregrip, and flashlight.