Type 80 machine gun

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title: "Type 80 machine gun" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["7.62×54mmr-machine-guns", "machine-guns-of-china", "medium-machine-guns", "general-purpose-machine-guns", "cold-war-weapons-of-china", "military-equipment-introduced-in-the-1980s", "norinco"] topic_path: "geography/china" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_80_machine_gun" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox weapon"]

Field	Value
name	Type 80 general-purpose machine gun
image	Chinese pkms.png
caption	Type 80 GPMG in tripod mount
origin	China
type	General-purpose machine gun
	is_ranged
	service
used_by	See Users
wars	Lebanese Civil War
Second Sudanese Civil War
War in Darfur
Sri Lankan Civil War
Somali civil war (2009–present)
South Sudanese ethnic violence
Sudanese conflict
Syrian Civil War
Boko Haram insurgency
Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present)
designer	Mikhail Kalashnikov
design_date	1980
manufacturer	* Norinco
production_date	1983–present
variants	See Variants
weight	12.6 kg
length	1192 mm
part_length	658 mm
passengers
action	Gas-operated, open bolt
rate	700–800 round/min
velocity	840 m/s (2,776 ft/s)
range	1,640 yd (100—1,500 m sight adjustments)
feed	Belts in 100/200/250 round boxes
sights	Open sights. Optical/Night vision scope can be outfitted.
::

| name = Type 80 general-purpose machine gun | image = Chinese pkms.png | caption = Type 80 GPMG in tripod mount | origin = China | type = General-purpose machine gun | is_ranged = yes | service = 1983–present | used_by = See Users | wars = Lebanese Civil War Second Sudanese Civil War War in Darfur Sri Lankan Civil War Somali civil war (2009–present) South Sudanese ethnic violence Sudanese conflict Syrian Civil War Boko Haram insurgency Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present) | designer = Mikhail Kalashnikov | design_date = 1980 | manufacturer = * Norinco

• Changfeng Machinery (For CS/LM4 variant)
• Military Industry Corporation | unit_cost = | production_date = 1983–present | number = | variants = See Variants | spec_label = | weight = 12.6 kg | length = 1192 mm | part_length = 658 mm | width = | height = | diameter = | crew = | passengers = | cartridge =
• 7.62×54mmR
• 7.62×51 NATO (For CF 06 version) | cartridge_weight = | caliber = | barrels = | action = Gas-operated, open bolt | rate = 700–800 round/min | velocity = 840 m/s (2,776 ft/s) | range = 1,640 yd (100—1,500 m sight adjustments) | max_range = | feed = Belts in 100/200/250 round boxes | sights = Open sights. Optical/Night vision scope can be outfitted.

The Type 80 () is a general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) manufactured by Norinco in China, based on the Soviet PKM. The machine gun was certified for design finalisation in 1980 and entered the PLA service in the mid-1980s, specifically in 1983. The Type 80 was intended as a successor to the Chinese independently developed Type 67, doing well in tests conducted in the Chengdu Military Region before it was dropped and instead, opted to keep the Type 67 GPMG in use.

Only a few Type 80s were used in the People's Liberation Army Marine Corps and airborne units, and a modified Type 80, named as Type 86, was then accepted by PLA armor units.

History

The development of the GPMG started when Chinese firearms engineers studied PKMs that were captured from Vietnamese forces during the Sino-Vietnamese War.

Changfeng Machinery was subcontracted to create the CS/LM4 in order to have it chambered to 7.62 NATO caliber. The CS/LM4 has been marketed to countries that have used Soviet/East European/Chinese-made small arms, but have oriented to use NATO-based ammo.

Design

The Type 80 uses the 7.62×54mmR round. It is a gas-operated, air-cooled, belt-fed, fully automatic firearm. It can fire on both the tripod and the foldable bipod on the gas tube below the barrel.

Belts are used from 100-round boxes in the light machine gun configurations, and from 200- or 250-round boxes in tripod-mounted applications. The machine gun uses an open iron sight, but can also be fitted with an optical or night-vision sight.

Variants

• Type 80 - The copy of the PKM GPMG, chambered in 7.62×54mmR. The modernized version is copy of PKP "Pecheneg"
• Type 86 - A machine gun only used for tanks as a secondary weapon.
• CF06 - An export-only version of the Type 80, which is chambered for 7.62 NATO ammunition. A study on creating the CF06 started with an evaluation from July to December 2006 with a prototype review in February 2007. Production started from April to May 2007 before the CF06 was officially formalized in January 2008. It's equipped with polymer furniture instead of the wooden furniture used in the original Type 80. The barrel life consist of 25,000 rounds, with 12,500 rounds for each one of two barrels supplied. It's also known as the CS/LM4 GPMG () in 2008.

Foreign variants

• ** Mokhtar** - A variant of the Type 80 made by the Sudanese Military Industry Corporation in 7.62x54R caliber.

Users

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Damascus_Checkpoint.jpeg" caption="Syrian Soldier with Type-80"] ::

• Cameroon
• China: Currently in service in small numbers with Chinese special forces.
• Croatia: In service with Croatian police units during the country's war of independence.
• India: Captured from various insurgents in the Kashmir valley and used by Indian troops.
• Malta: Armed Forces of Malta
• Niger
• South Sudan :* South Sudan Democratic Movement: Mokhtar :* South Sudan Defence Forces: Type 80
• Sudan: Manufactured locally as Mokhtar. Also Chinese-made Type 80s.
• Somalia
• Sri Lanka: In service with the Sri Lanka Army. Around 200 Type 80 GPMGs were supplied by Norinco as part of several defense agreements between China and Sri Lanka.
• Syria
• Turkey: Purchased 2800 Type 80s for Border guards and Infantry Commando Brigades.

Non-State Actors

• AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Boko Haram
• Hamas Hamas
• Islamic State
• Libya Libyan National Army
• South Sudan South Sudan Democratic Movement
• Flag of SSLM.svg South Sudan Liberation Movement
• Nuer militias in South Sudan

References

References

1. (June 2024). "War Noir on X: "#Iraq 🇮🇶: #ISIS militants raided a military barrack of Iraqi Army and killed several soldiers in #Anbar Governorate. Additionally four M16A4 assault rifles, a Chinese Type 80 machine gun, 5.56x45mm #NATO ammunition, STANAG magazines etc... were captured by the militants.".
2. This is due to the Type 80's basis from the PK general-purpose machine gun.
3. link. [[SINA Corporation. Sina]]
4. (10 May 2016). "深度：俄抱怨中国山寨太强 这么好的机枪都抄袭到手".
5. "Firearmsworld.net".
6. (2007-08-13). "Type 80 7.62mm General Purpose Machine Gun".
7. (2007-10-16). "中国研制成功新型CF06式7.62毫米通用机枪(图)". Sina.
8. (2007-10-16). "图文：国产CF06式7.62毫米通用机枪结构示意图". Sina.
9. (18 June 2017). "中国CF06式7.62毫米通用机枪".
10. (25 July 2017). "中国CF06式7.62毫米通用机枪".
11. "Archived copy".
12. (16 March 2014). "Vojničke puške - mup.hr".
13. Admin -. "Type 56 Assault Rifle: A Curious Case of Indian Army using Chinese Weapon".
14. Agius, Matthew. (14 July 2018). "Personnel reveal shortcomings inside Maltese armed forces". [[Malta Today]].
15. (August 1998). "Sudan - Global trade, local impact: Arms Transfers to all Sides in the Civil War in Sudan". Human Rights Watch Report.
16. Small Arms Survey. (2014). "Small Arms Survey 2014: Women and guns". [[Cambridge University Press]].
17. "#Somalia 🇸🇴: Al-Shabaab (part of #AlQaeda) ambushed Somali Forces in El Dher, #Galgaduud. Militants captured #Chinese 🇨🇳 Type 56-2 rifles, rare LG2 grenade launcher, Type 69 RPG Launcher, Type 69-3 HEAT rounds, Type 80 MGs. The weapons were obtained by Somali Army in 2024/2023.".
18. (2007-06-05). "Chinese arms, radar for Sri Lanka military".
19. (13 September 2022). "Türkiye, Çin'den 3 binden fazla makineli tüfek aldı!".
20. Savannah de Tessières. (January 2018). "At the Crossroads of Sahelian Conflicts: Insecurity, Terrorism, and Arms Trafficking in Niger". [[Small Arms Survey]].
21. "Hamas fights with a patchwork of weapons built by Iran, China, Russia and North Korea".
22. Conflict Armament Research. (September 2014). "Islamic State Weapons in Iraq and Syria: Analysis of weapons and ammunition captured from Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria".
23. (23 March 2021). "Tracking Arms Transfers By The UAE, Russia, Jordan And Egypt To The Libyan National Army Since 2014".
24. (7 January 2024). "Reaching for the gun: Arms flows and holdings in South Sudan". Small Arms Survey.

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