Infantry Weapons

QLZ-87 automatic grenade launcher

The QLZ-87 is a Chinese 35x32 mm automatic grenade launcher built for unusually portable infantry fire support, with light bipod and heavier tripod configurations. In the Boko Haram Insurgency, Small Arms Survey documented one QLZ-87 among materiel captured by Boko Haram during the 2016 Bosso military camp attack in Niger, making the evidence strongest for battlefield capture rather than sustained use.

Boko Haram InsurgencyBoko Haram and ISWAP

Conflict side: Boko Haram and ISWAP
Built by: NORINCO
Built in: China

QLZ-87 automatic grenade launcher, 35 mm automatic grenade launcher, Infantry Weapons

Image source: Type 87 Grenade Launcher.jpg

Profile

Type: 35 mm automatic grenade launcher
Conflict side: Boko Haram and ISWAP
Origin: China
Service note: Entered Chinese service in the early 1990s; documented in the Boko Haram Insurgency in 2016.

portable crew-servedgrenade launcherstrike

Service History

In service: Early 1990s-present
Used by: People's Liberation Army, Boko Haram
Wars: Boko Haram Insurgency

Production History

Designer: Chinese state ordnance design teams
Designed: Mid to late 1980s
Built by: NORINCO
Built in: China
Unit cost: Not publicly reported
Produced: Early 1990s-present
Number built: Thousands estimated
Variants: QLZ-87 light configuration with bipod, QLZ-87 crew-served configuration with tripod

Specifications

Caliber: 35x32 mm Chinese high-velocity grenade
Feed: 6-round or 15-round drum magazine
Weight: 12 kg with sight in light configuration; about 20 kg including tripod
Length: 1,040 mm in light configuration; 1,300 mm in heavy configuration
Muzzle velocity: About 190 m/s
Effective range: 800 m on bipod; up to 1,750 m on tripod
Operation: Direct-gas impingement, flap lock, closed-bolt selective fire

Conflict Usage

Boko Haram Insurgency: Side: Boko Haram and ISWAPRole: Captured infantry fire-support weaponstrike
Small Arms Survey identified one QLZ-87 among military materiel taken by Boko Haram during the 3 June 2016 attack on the Bosso military camp in Niger's Diffa region; the source documents capture, not confirmed later firing or retention.

QLZ-87 automatic grenade launcher Images

QLZ-87 automatic grenade launcher, 35 mm automatic grenade launcher, Infantry Weapons - view 1 — Source: Type 87 Grenade Launcher.jpg

QLZ-87 automatic grenade launcher, 35 mm automatic grenade launcher, Infantry Weapons - view 2 — Source: Type 87 Grenade Launcher.jpg

QLZ-87 automatic grenade launcher, 35 mm automatic grenade launcher, Infantry Weapons - view 3 — Source: Advance contingent of AMISOM troops deployed in Baidoa 04

QLZ-87 automatic grenade launcher, 35 mm automatic grenade launcher, Infantry Weapons - view 4 — Source: AMISOM and Somali National Army operation to capture Afgoye Corridor Day 5 09

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Sources

At the Crossroads of Sahelian ConflictsPublisher: Small Arms Survey | Note: Supports Boko Haram Insurgency direct conflict-use/capture claim: one QLZ-87 was captured by Boko Haram during the 3 June 2016 Bosso military camp attack in Niger. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 The Chinese QLZ87 Automatic Grenade LauncherPublisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports background on the QLZ-87's development history, portability, light and heavy configurations, and ammunition. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 Arms & Munitions Brief No. 1: QLZ-87 Automatic Grenade LauncherPublisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports detailed specifications including caliber, weight, length, range, feed devices, sights, operation, and ammunition effects. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 Grenade Launchers in ChinaPublisher: NDIA / DTIC | Note: Supports Chinese QLZ87 background, service context, ammunition, and performance specifications from a technical armament presentation. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 QLZ87Publisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports manufacturer, production-era, service-era, and general system background for the QLZ-87. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 Type 87 Grenade Launcher.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for a public-domain Type 87 grenade launcher photo at the Beijing military museum. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 Type 87 grenade launcher 20170919.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for a CC BY-SA 4.0 Type 87 grenade launcher photo showing another museum view. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 Advance contingent of AMISOM troops deployed in Baidoa 04Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for a CC0 operational photo identified by Commons as showing a QLZ87 in light configuration. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 AMISOM and Somali National Army operation to capture Afgoye Corridor Day 5 09Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for a CC0 operational photo identified by Commons as showing a QLZ87 in heavy configuration with a 15-round magazine. | Accessed: 2026-06-21