Continuing the idea of man-portability and light weight for PLA's next generation of infantry weapons, the new PBP172 120mm Light Weight Mortar its the theme. PBP172 weighs 170kg, while it is lighter than the previous Chinese Type55 Mortar, it is still a touch heavier than the US M120 120mm Mortar, which weighs approximately 145 kg.
The PBP172 was designed with amphibious, airborne, MOUT, and mountain combat in mind, hence weight reduction was a priority. It is now also found mounting on the Dongfeng Mengshi Warrior wheeled IFV (see photo below), providing additional firepower to the PLA's light mobile unit.
Tuesday, April 01, 2025
Photo Collection Of The Day: QJZ-171 12.7×108mm Heavy (Light) Machine Gun
The QJZ-171 was created with mountain warfare in the southwest plateau region (read Tibet), hence there is a strong emphasis on its portability. Weighing in only 26.4 lbs, it can be portable by a 2-man crew as seem from a squad of PLA infantry of the 81st Group Army, Central Military Command below.
Thanks to the complex plateau terrain and high altitude, the oxygen content of the air is low, the combatants' physical fitness will be significantly lower than that of the plains, and the combat load of individual soldiers must be lower than that of the plains in order to reduce the physical consumption of officers and men. Furthermore, the ground beneath the plateau terrain is mostly bare sand, snow, frozen soil, or soft moss, and the weapon system must be more adaptable to the ground, so that when used in the aforementioned terrain, the ground does not need to be modified, and the impact on weapon use is minimal.
To reduce weight and make it portable for two people, a plastic 60-round ammo box with a polymer link was specially constructed. However, it can still fire the DShK-38/46-influenced box if necessary. In addition, carbon fiber plastic was utilized for the exterior gun housing, with titanium alloys used for the receiver, bolt carrier, and some belt feed elements.
The QJZ-171 appears to be well-received, outside mountain troops, it has been deployed to MOUT, mounted infantry, and other SpOps formations. Similar to the the Russian Kord Heavy machine gun, it began as a lighter replacement for an existing design and is now used in a variety of applications, from ship mounts to remote weapon stations.
Note the QMK-171 5x magnified optic and the plastic ammo box
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