Shanghai police practice with a 'bendable gun' that can shoot around corners. Photo: Xinhua

Shanghai police train with ‘bendable guns’ that can shoot around corners

Photos released by Shanghai police show the city's SWAT team training with "bendable guns" which allow the operator to see and shoot around corners.

James Griffiths

Published: 12:45pm, 5 Mar 2015

Why you can trust SCMP

Photos released by Shanghai police show the city's SWAT team training with "bendable guns" which allow the operator to see and shoot around corners.

The weapons have previously been rolled out to a number of other Chinese police forces, including in Beijing, Guangzhou and Xinjiang, where six "militants" were shot dead by police in January amid increasing unrest in the majority Uyghur semi-autonomous region.

The Chinese weapons, developed by Chongqing Changfeng Machinery Co and Shanghai Sea Shield Technologies, are similar to the CornerShot, designed by Amos Golan of the Israeli Defence Forces with investment from the US.

Designed in the early 2000s, the gun was intended for use by SWAT and special forces teams in hostage or terrorist situations.

"Today's combat situations, especially in low intensity conflicts, involve fighting in urban terrain, and inside inhabited buildings, forced entry into airplanes, buses or trains. This unnecessarily exposes security forces to the enemy and presents an immediate risk to their lives," according to CornerShot designer Golan.

Golan said that his weapon "removes the need for this initial exposure".

Qing Shansheng, chief designer of the Chinese HD-66 and CF-06 "bendable guns", has denied that either weapon was inspired or based on the CornerShot.

After photos of the Shanghai police were published online, commenters drew comparisons between the guns and the film Wanted starring James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie in which specially trained fighters can curve bullets around corners.

Post