GCh-114

The GCh-114 (Formal designation: 114식 일반목적 기관총 / 一一四式一般目的機關銃, Irilsal-sik ilbanmogjŏk gigwanchong, "Type 114 general-purpose machine gun;" short designation 114식, irilsal-sik, "Type 114") is a belt-fed 5.7mm Quinn light machine gun designed in Menghe. It is intended as a replacement for the squad-level GCh-96, offering comparable range and fire rates in a much lighter package and compatibility with the same ammunition used by the JS-103.

With a mass of just over 7 kilograms, the GCh-114 is relatively lightweight for a machine gun, and because it fires a lighter cartridge, its 200-round belt weighs about as much as the 100-round belt of the GCh-96. It is also capable of accepting 30-round and 60-round box magazines from the JS-103, allowing squad members to share ammunition after running out of belts. The barrel is designed to allow for a relatively easy one-handed change, and both full-length and "paratroop-length" barrels are manufactured. The weapon reportedly performed very well in durability and reliability testing, and has been well-received among Menghean troops.

Development

Menghean interest in a belt-fed intermediate-caliber LMG first began to grow after the introduction of the JS-103 in 2003. Like the JS-67 before it, this new assault rifle had an LMG variant, the GCh-105, with a long barrel. Originally this weapon was intended to carry a 100-round drum magazine, but these proved unreliable in service, and by 2007 smaller 60-round quad-stack casket magazines were issued instead, limiting the weapon's ability to lay down sustained automatic fire. By contrast, the 7.5×54mm GCh-96 could fire from a 150-round belt, but even though it was lighter than the GCh-77 before it, it still required a gunner's assistant to carry the spare barrel and extra ammunition.

To help fill the gap in between the two weapons, the Insŏng New Arsenal began independent work on a belt-fed weapon chambered in 5.7mm Quinn. Glasic and Menghean tests had already confirmed that this cartridge had very good ballistics out to 800 meters, as it was originally designed for use on open plains and steppes, and at about half the total mass of the 7.5×54mm cartridge it would allow for lighter combat loads. Even so, the Menghean Army was initially skeptical about the need for a weapon which would render the GCh-105 redundant, so development proceeded slowly.

The designers at Insŏng struggled to meet competing demands for light weight and high durability, while also keeping costs attractive. For inspiration, they looked overseas at similar 5mm caliber machine guns, reviewing features which could be integrated into the new design as well as drawbacks which could be corrected. The final prototype was submitted for evaluation in 2012, but it received little attention until 2014, when the Innominadan Crisis launched the Menghean Army into a major unconventional war. In December of that year, Insŏng's belt-fed weapon was approved for service under the designation GCh-114, with motorized units on the Maverican border given first priority in deliveries.

Users

• Menghe
• Idacua: 7.62×39mm variant