The QSW-06 (officially translated in pinyin as Qiāng Shǒu Wēishēng, literally 'Gun, Hand, Suppressed') (also sometimes referred to as the Type 06) is a suppressed

Suppressor

A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....

 semi-automatic pistol in limited use with the People's Liberation Army

People's Liberation Army

The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...

 (PLA) and various Chinese police departments

Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China

The Ministry of Public Security , is the principal police and security authority of the mainland of the People's Republic of China and the government agency that exercises oversight over and is ultimately responsible for day-to-day law enforcement...

. The QSW-06 is based on the QSZ-92

QSZ-92

The QSZ-92 Services Pistol is a semi-automatic pistol designed by Norinco and it is in limited service in the People's Liberation Army since the late 1990s.-Development:...

 semi-automatic service pistol and is designed to replace the aging QSW-67 silent pistol.

Development

After nearly four decades of successful service, the Type 67 suppressed pistol was beginning to show its age. Issues surrounding the life of its integral suppressor, its low magazine capacity and overall performance had started becoming an issue. Soon trials for a replacement had begun starting in January 2002 after it was found that the QSZ-92s rotating barrel system was not suitable for a suppressor. Reviewing two different pistol designs and fifteen different suppressor designs, eventually one suppressor and one pistol were selected for further testing after a thorough review by firearms experts and the PLA. Eight months later a design was agreed on which would then go on to production and by December 2005 the design had been finalised and production began in early 2006 after going under a series of trials including ones performed in arctic, arid and normal weather conditions.

Design details

The QSW-06 is a polymer framed, short recoil operated, semi-automatic pistol that shares its development history with the QSZ-92 pistol and externally the two pistols are similar in appearance and share 60% of the same components but internally there are many differences between the two pistols. The most notable of these differences is, that while both pistols use a short recoil operation, the QSW-06 uses a non-rotating barrel lock as opposed to the QSZ-92 and its rotating barrel. The QSW-06 is chambered for DCV05 5.8 X 21mm subsonic round which creates less noise compared to standard pistol rounds. The QSW-06 is also capable of firing the standard PLA pistol round, the DAP92 5.8 x 21mm as well. The QSW-06 uses a double column, double feed, twenty round magazine as opposed to the QSZ-92's fifteen round magazine. A rail has beem placed under the barrel and various sights, flashlights and other accessories may be attached. Most importantly, the QSW-06 comes with a detachable suppressor than may be screwed on to the barrel.