More recently, an unusual Chinese-made grenade launcher has attracted the attention of Western and Russian publications. We are talking about the Norinco LG5 automatic grenade launcher, which is exported in a 40-mm version. Just the other day, a grenade launcher, which is often called a sniper for the presence of advanced sighting devices and the ability to hit point targets, was seen in the hands of a Saudi Arabian army soldier fighting in Yemen.
According to journalists, the appearance of pictures showing a Saudi Arabian soldier fighting the Houthis in Yemen and armed with a Chinese-made Norinco LG5 portable 40-mm grenade launcher is the first evidence of the use of this weapon model anywhere outside China. This is the first evidence that the grenade launcher, more reminiscent of a fantastic weapon from the next American blockbuster, is actually used in combat. Photos appeared on the Internet only on November 3, 2019, it is impossible to say for sure how long the new weapon has been used in the military conflict in Yemen. At the same time, in early February 2018, the American edition of defense-blog wrote that an unnamed Middle Eastern buyer expressed a desire to purchase "sniper" LG5 automatic grenade launchers manufactured by Norinco. Before the appearance in Yemen, weapons were used only in China, although earlier information appeared that in combat conditions an automatic grenade launcher was used by Chinese marines in the fight against Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
Automatic grenade launcher Norinco LG5
The Norinco LG5 automatic grenade launcher is an export version of a similar grenade launcher that has been in service with the PLA since 2011. In the Chinese army, it is designated QLU-11. The main difference between the export version and the Chinese version is the ammunition used. The automatic grenade launcher, designed for the Chinese military, uses 35x32 mm grenades, the export version is adapted to use the widespread NATO caliber 40x53 mm grenades. It is worth noting that Norinco has quite a wealth of experience in creating such weapons, back in the 1980s, the company's designers created the QLZ-87 grenade launcher, which is also available in a "light" version with a bipod and has already achieved some success in the world arms market, weapons were exported to African countries.
The LG5 / QLU-11 automatic grenade launcher was developed by the designers of the Chinese corporation NORINCO and is positioned as a "sniper", as it is adapted to engage small individual targets at a distance of up to 1000 meters, while confident coverage of group targets is provided at a greater firing range. For such a weapon, these are very good indicators. The export-oriented version uses standard NATO high velocity 40x53mm ammunition. In addition, in China specially for this grenade launcher were created "sniper" shots of increased accuracy, known under the designation BGJ-5. These are high-explosive fragmentation grenades, which, according to the developers, provide a dispersion of only one meter for a series of three shots at a distance of up to 600 meters. Roughly speaking, a shooter armed with an automatic grenade launcher LG5, in ideal conditions, is able to lay all three grenades in a typical window or door of a residential building at a distance of 600 meters, suppressing the enemy's firing point.
The Chinese army is armed with two versions of the grenade launcher, one of them is a portable version, shooting is carried out from folding bipods. The second is a tripod-mounted version that converts the weapon into a more traditional easel automatic grenade launcher. According to information from open sources, the version of the automatic grenade launcher with a bipod weighs 12.9 kg, the version with a machine tool - 23 kg. Most likely, this is the weight of a sniper grenade launcher without attached magazines and scopes. The version of the manual automatic grenade launcher for shooting from the bipod has the designation LG5s, the version on the tripod machine, which can also be installed on various equipment, is simply designated LG5. In terms of its weight, the bipod version of the grenade launcher is comparable to the weight of the American antimaterial rifle Barrett M107 chambered for 12, 7x99 mm. Therefore, often changing position on the battlefield, carrying such a weapon, is not an easy task. Outwardly, the LG5 grenade launcher for 40-mm ammunition looks very massive, so its real weight may turn out to be even greater.
Like other automatic grenade launchers of a similar caliber, the Chinese Norinco LG5 grenade launcher is designed to destroy manpower, unarmored and lightly armored enemy vehicles located in open areas. Confident defeat of individual targets is provided at a distance of up to 1000 meters, group, area targets - at a distance of up to 2200 meters (when firing from a machine tool). In the Western media, you can find information that specifically for the LG5 grenade launcher in China, ammunition has been created that can effectively fight against small unmanned aerial vehicles of the enemy.
Technical features of the automatic grenade launcher Norinco LG5
It is believed that the creation of the accurate automatic grenade launcher of the Chinese designers was inspired by the American self-loading 25 mm Barrett XM109 grenade launcher. The weapon was created on the basis of the very successful large-caliber sniper rifle M107, which is in service with the US Army and many other countries. The weapon was originally created for 25x59 mm grenade launcher shots, which were used in the experimental 25 mm XM307 ACSW automatic grenade launcher. In addition, Norinco specialists could rely on the experience of creating a Chinese anti-material rifle of 12.7 mm HSARI LR2, borrowing the design of this model of sniper weapons.
The Chinese automatic grenade launcher LG5 is a self-loading weapon with a magazine-fed system. Presumably, the automation of this grenade launcher is based on the use of recoil energy with a long barrel stroke, when the barrel stroke is equal to the bolt stroke. At the same time, the barrel rollback damper is most likely built into the butt of the weapon, which dampens the recoil energy when fired, providing the weapon with the required firing accuracy. Shooting from a weapon can be carried out both from the bipod and from the machine. When firing from a bipod, the shooter fixes the weapon with two hands, one of which is on the pistol grip, the second covers a special handle made in the butt of the weapon. In the manual version, the sniper automatic grenade launcher can be carried and used by one soldier.
Since the weapon was originally created as a high-precision system, the grenade launcher received advanced sights. Despite the presence of open adjustable sights on the LG5, the main ones are day and night sights, both optical and electronic, which are placed on a Picatinny rail. All weapon models are equipped with a modern standard optical-electronic sight, which is equipped with a built-in laser rangefinder, thermal imager and a ballistic computer that allows you to make the necessary adjustments to aiming in automatic mode. Including thanks to the perfect sighting devices, the grenade launcher ensures confident defeat of single targets at a distance of up to 1000 meters.
The automatic grenade launcher is powered from detachable drum magazines designed for 3, 5 or 7 grenades for the Chinese version of the QLU-11 for 35 mm ammunition and for 5 and 15 rounds for the export version of weapons for standard 40 mm NATO grenades. Attached to the top of the receiver is a handle used to carry the weapon. Shown in photos in Yemen, the automatic grenade launcher is equipped with a massive new muzzle brake that can include an electronic fuse control module. This solution allows to use, together with the Norinco LG5 automatic grenade launcher, remote detonation ammunition, which explodes in the air and provides great variability in the use of weapons and destruction of various targets.
