Type 20 rifle series at the Airshow China 2022.Photo:screen shot from CCTV

 
The Chinese military's next-generation service rifle, which used to be called the QBZ191 series, has been formally named the Type 20 series, and the spokesperson of the manufacturer said at the Airshow China 2022 that this shows that the new rifles are just like the 20 aircraft family, which include the J-20 stealth fighter jet, Y-20 transport aircraft and Z-20 helicopter. They will become the next-generation firearms to greatly improve the Chinese military forces' combat capability. 

At the exhibition hall for weapons and equipment for the ground forces at Airshow China 2022 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, the China South Industries Group Corp (CSGC) displayed a huge number of firearms including assault rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, machine guns, grenade launchers, submachine guns and nonlethal riot control weapons that arm the Chinese military forces and are also exported. 

The Type 20 series rifles attracted many professional guests invited by defense companies, military enthusiasts and journalists, although they debuted at the show in 2021. 

The Type 20 series rifles are designed and manufactured by the Chongqing Jianshe Industry of the CSGC. Zhang Lu, a spokesperson of the CSGC, told the Global Times that naming the series Type 20 showed the importance of the weapons for China's military, and the Type 20 rifles for the army will be just like the 20 family aircraft for the Chinese air force. 

Zhang said compared with the Type 95 series, the Type 20 series has been greatly improved in many aspects. "For instance, it's gotten much lighter, and it uses transparent magazines," and the biggest technological breakthrough is a longer service life. 

"For instance, if the old rifles can fire mostly 5,000 or 10,000 bullets, the Type 20 series can now make it double." 

The CSGC also displayed a simulation training system with augmented reality (AR) technology for close-quarters combat (CQB) for the first time at the Airshow China, which is mainly used for the training of special forces. 

For a demonstration of the system at the exhibition hall, two members of the special forces wore AR headsets and used special rifles and pistols for the system to complete an "indoor hostage rescue mission" without live weapons firing.

A staff member of the CSGC told the Global Times that this system is more secure and less expensive for training, but it won't completely replace live-firing training sessions. Some military enthusiasts said if this system can be used by civilians like some kinds of AR first-person shooter video games, it will be very popular.