Published: 5:43pm, 2 Sep 2025Updated: 7:24pm, 2 Sep 2025
Beijing’s massive military parade on Wednesday will feature China’s next-generation QBZ-191 rifles, described by state broadcaster CCTV as the “Transformers of the rifle world”.
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The guards of honour in the parade will carry the new rifle, which made its first public appearance at the 70th National Day parade in 2019, and marked China’s departure from the bullpup-configured QBZ-95 that had been standard since 1997.
The QBZ-191, part of the Type 20 weapons family with variants for different combat roles, appeared in footage broadcast by CCTV of a rehearsal for the parade, which will mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, with 25 foreign leaders there.
The conventional-layout rifle features a full-length Picatinny rail, ambidextrous controls and a modular design for easier maintenance and upgrades – addressing long-standing ergonomic and adaptability issues with its predecessor.
In a CCTV programme aired on Saturday, reporter Li Ning was featured holding the rifle and noting that “its biggest characteristic is its lightness, weighing around six pounds, roughly equal to six bottles of mineral water”.
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The rifle was developed after extensive design testing to achieve both lightness and reliability. It includes a retractable stock and has been styled to balance combat requirements with ceremonial aesthetics.