JS 9mm SMG

JS 9mm 1st Type SMG

The first picture is the JS 9mm 1st Type SMG(2004)
The second picture is the JS 9mm 2sd Type SMG(2005)_ without carrying handle

Comment by Pierangelo Tendas

The JS Submachineguns system is the new short weapons cache engineered by the notorious LABORATORY 231 (People's Liberation Army's Small Arms Development Group), and manufactured by NORINCO, North China Industries Corporation. Based on the frame and working system of the QBZ-95 bull-pup assault rifle that's gonna turn in less than 5 years the main assault weapon of the PLA, the JS tactical submachineguns have been developed for Special Forces, and for Personal Defence Weapon role. It exists in two variants:

JS-05 = Chambered for the Chinese proprietary .5'8x21mm cartridge (ChiCom copy of the Belgian 5'7x28mm-FN "SS-193" ammo). 
JS-9 = Chambered for the .9x19mm-Parabellum cartridge, new standard sidearm ammo for the PLA. This submachinegun can take any world-manufactured .9x19mm-Parabellum round, but is optimized for the armor-piercing DAP-92 cartridge, this being by itself a Chinese copy of the Russian .9x19mm-Parabellum PBP ammo developed for the GSh-18 pistol (the Russian PBP and Chinese DAP-92 cartridges take their special armor-piercing capabilities not only from their specially conceived bullet, as described by Mr. MAXIM POPENKER at http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg111-e.htm , but also from their extra load, in fact both PBP and DAP-92 cartridges, when fired, develop extra pressures, like, to say, +P+ or even +P++. That's why the PBP and DAP-92 cartridges can be fired only with .9x19mmm-chambered firearms which have been specifically engineered for them, while those firearms can normally handle any military-grade or commercial 9mm-Luger ammo).

Those submachineguns have about 70% parts interchangeability with the QBZ-95 weapons system, and are normally used as suppressed weapons (this points out their SPECOPS uses purpose), but the suppressor can be detached if needed, the SMG will work flawlessly without it. If there's something wrong, with them, like with all QBZ-95 weapons, is that their versatility is poor, this means that tactical accessories aren't easily attacheable like in all those ATAS western guns with rail interface systems everywhere. A RIS/RAS handguard in the QBZ-95 and derivatives is definitely something that ChiCom troopers would probably want. And, obviously, the QBZ-95 system and derivatives suffer the flaws of any bull-pup: them are hardly used by left-handed personnel since the ejection port and the commands are right-placed (that's something that still today only the Steyr AUG has solved, having fully ambidextrous controls and rapidly interchangeable ejection port). Plus in the QBZ-95 the fire selector switch is very hard to operate, being it placed backwards from the magazine, like, to say, in the British SA-80/L85A1-A2 etc.

Besides, the ChiComs are developing A LOT of firearms from the QBZ-95 layout. The other newer Chinese submachineguns, CFQ-5'8 and CFQ-9, are built on a QBZ-95 lower, of which is left nothing more than the two grips, those SMGs have a double feeding systems (them can either take pistol-like short magazines housed in the grip, or helical dispenser magazines placed on the upside like in the US-manufactured CALICO system), and sport a telescopic stock.

Plus, you might remember that some times ago somebody has posted news from an American gun magazine, I don't remember which one, but well, this somebody said that there was an arrangement going on with HAWK INDUSTRIES GROUP to import in the USA a cache of Chinese-made self-loading shotguns for the civilian and LE market, in 12-gauge and 16-gauge, one of these shotguns having to be a bull-pup. Well, the webmaster of the website ROGER himself got this trivia pic from has sent me a picture of this bull-pup shotgun, called the ML-12 (in 12-gauge) and ML-16 (in 16-gauge). He asked me not to disclose the picture until he has found more informations (he wants to be the first to put better pics on his website, I understand him); furthermore, the pic is not big. But the gun is seen well. It is a QBZ-95 shorter than usual, like in carbine lenght, with 12-gauge or 16-gauge barrel and removable 8-rounds magazine, semi-automatic, gas-operated.

Photos and information from: Pierangelo Tendas & Roger Desbois

Website by: E-Image Agency