QJZ-89

The QJZ-89, also called the Type 89, is a Chinese heavy machine gun made by NORINCO and chambered for the 12.7x108mm Soviet cartridge, which is a round suited to defeating light armour at range. It entered service in 1989, was influenced to some extent by the Soviet NSV series, and operates by a combination of gas impingement and short recoil. The gun weighs about 17.5 kilograms without its tripod, is fed from a 50-round belt, and fires at roughly 450 to 600 rounds per minute with an effective range of about 1,500 meters according to the source. It is fielded by the fighting forces of China in considerable numbers and is used aboard rotorcraft, on unarmoured and armoured vehicles and on warships of the People's Liberation Army Navy. Its export success has been modest, with Cambodia and Mongolia named as users. Its design is comparable in role to the American Browning M2.