Norinco Group

Norinco Group

About

Note: For the ease of reading, uses of "Corporation" and "Limited" in company names in this text are abbreviated to "Co." and "Ltd.", even though they are officially spelt out in full.

The China North Industries Group Co. Ltd., doing business as Norinco Group, and known within China as China Ordnance Industries Group Co. Ltd. (Chinese: 中国兵器工业集团有限公司), is a Chinese state-run conglomerate primarily involved in the production of military ordnances, and secondarily in other industrial products such as vehicles, chemicals, or machinery. It is China's largest weapons manufacturer, producing military vehicles, artillery, and other military ordnance for both Chinese domestic use and export. Though most commonly associated with its cold war-era Soviet and to a lesser extent Western weapon knock-offs, the company now has its own range of locally-designed systems.

The company's predecessor was the China North Industries (Group) Co. (Norinco (G), Chinese: 中国北方工业（集团）总公司), known within China as China Ordnance Industry Co. (COIC, Chinese: 中国兵器工业总公司), a state-owned company founded in 1988 that oversaw China's ordnance industries. In 1999, COIC was divided into two entities, one was Norinco Group, and the other was the China South Industries Group (CSGC).

It is important to note that, generally speaking, most Chinese small arms are manufactured by subsidiaries of the China South Industries Group, not Norinco Group; Norinco Group subsidiaries generally manufacture heavy weapon systems like missiles and armored fighting vehicles. Many online secondary sources often misattribute Chinese small arms as being "manufactured by Norinco"; this confusion likely stems from the fact that Norinco is also the name of a Chinese export company (see below), which handles the international sale of most Chinese small arms regardless of manufacturer, and brands its exported products with its own name.

Norinco (export company)

Norinco (historical logo)

Norinco Group owns an identically-named (and technically older) subsidiary named China North Industries Co. Ltd., also known as simply Norinco, which handles the sale of Chinese equipment internationally. Founded in 1980 as the export arm of China's ordnance industry ministry, Norinco (G) and Norinco Group adopted the subsidiary's name as its international business name for the sake of name recognition. Norinco has no military manufacturing capabilities of its own.

Norinco is jointly owned by Norinco Group and CSGC, and they have handled marketing for small arms made by CSGC subsidiaries (e.g. Changfeng Machinery, Jianshe Industry Group, Huaqing Machinery) and other Chinese small arms makers (e.g. Hunan Ordnance Industries Group).

Specifications

Founded: 1980 (Norinco, export company), 1988 (Norinco (G)), 1999 (Norinco Group)

Country: China

Products: Rocket Launchers, Missile Systems

Guns

Assault Rifles

Weapon	Caliber(s)	Capacity	Produced	Variants	Image
Norinco Model 311/CQ 5.56	5.56x45mm	20 30 90	1983-Present	CQ 5.56-A (M4 Clone) CQ 5.56-B (M16A4 Clone) CS/LM11 (Colt Model 750 LMG clone)

Rifles

Weapon	Caliber(s)	Capacity	Produced	Variants	Image
Norinco Type 56 Carbine	7.62×39mm	10	1956 - present	SKS Paratrooper SKS-D SKS-63

Machine Guns

Weapon	Caliber(s)	Capacity	Produced	Variants	Image
Norinco CQ 7.62 GPMG	7.62x51mm NATO	100	???? - present	XY 7.62 GPMG CS/LM 1
Norinco Type 80 GPMG	7.62x54mmR 7.62x51mm NATO (CS/LM4)	100 250	???? - present	CS/LM4 Norinco Type 86
Norinco Type 23-2K	23x115mm	Varies	???? - present

Shotguns

Weapon	Caliber(s)	Capacity	Produced	Variants	Image
Winchester Model 1887 replica	12 gauge	5	???-???
Norinco 97W	12 gauge	5	???-???
Norinco HP9-1/Norinco Hawk 982	12 gauge	4	1999-present
Norinco YL-12	12 gauge	?	????-????

Launchers

Weapon	Caliber(s)	Capacity	Produced	Variants	Image
HJ-8	120mm	1	1984 - present