Hong Kong police to replace US-made service revolvers with mainland Chinese pistols
- Smith & Wesson revolvers to be replaced with 9mm pistol, which has 15-round magazine capacity, and CS/LP 5 pistol, which has seven-round capacity
Hong Kong police will start using pistols manufactured in mainland China by the end of the month, replacing their standard-issue revolvers made in the United States.
The force said on Thursday that two Chinese -automatic pistol models were chosen “after stringent consideration” because of their safety features, better fit for Asian users and sustainable supply.
“The first batch of trained staff will start using the new guns from July 25,” Superintendent Ko Cheuk-hang from the support wing said.
Ko said the replacement would take place in phases, with a goal of training 2,000 officers to use the new guns every year.
Officers from criminal investigation, the Emergency Unit, the Police Tactical Unit and the Quick Reaction Force would be given priority in training, he said, adding other members of the force would continue using the old US models until they received lessons on the new firearms.
Police maintained an open attitude during the procurement phase and considered suppliers from different countries, Ko added, while stopping short of listing examples due to confidentiality issues.
“Some important points for consideration include how to repair and upkeep the guns and the sustainability of the supply chain,” Ko said.
The guns “entirely fit the operational needs” of the force, he added, without commenting on whether the switch was due to Chinese sanctions on US military companies.
In May, Beijing took measures against 12 companies involved in the US military-industrial complex and their senior executives, in response to the country helping to arm Taiwan and placing sanctions on Chinese companies.
This included freezing assets in China and banning senior executives from entering the country, including Hong Kong and Macau.
Tang Che-leung, chief inspector at the weapon training division, said the new guns were chosen for their performance in safety, speed and stability.
“The pistols are specially designed for Asian hands, which improves the user’s grip and control of the gun,” he said, adding the time needed to reload was also shorter.
The 9mm CF98-A pistol, which has a 15-round magazine capacity, would replace the Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolvers currently used by most officers, which can only carry six bullets.
Another model, the CS/LP 5 pistol, which has a seven-round capacity and an effective shooting range of 50 metres, would replace the Sig Sauer P250 used by criminal investigation officers.
Tang, who has 30 years of experience handling firearms, said the new weapons met international firearm standards.
“The biggest advantage of this gun is the manual safety catch,” he said. ‘This greatly reduces the risk of unintentional discharging, making it safer for daily use and is a feature not necessarily found in most models.”
The force declined to reveal the total cost involved in the replacement exercise, but said it had procured enough handguns for their needs.
Neither did Ko not say how many guns would need to be replaced, but he stressed the force would follow standard procedures to ensure proper disposal of old firearms.
Sources familiar with the arrangement said on Thursday the replacement of the service weapons for the city’s 33,000 police officers was expected to take more than a decade to complete, including procurement and training.
An insider added the change was needed because the Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolvers were no longer being made by the American company, and supplies of spare parts to maintain the existing firearms were dwindling.
Officers approaching retirement might be excluded from the replacement programme.
“The 9mm pistol’s design is also better suited for Asian hand sizes, making it easier to aim,” the source said, adding that magazines given to officers would not be fully loaded initially.
The Post has learned that efforts to source firearms to replace the revolvers have been under way for several years and the force began testing the mainland-made handguns, commonly used by law enforcement agencies across the border, around two years ago.
Police bought three water cannon trucks for HK$9.9 million (US$1.26 million) in 2021 from mainland suppliers, bringing the force’s total number of such vehicles to six.
The force also sourced stab-proof vests from the mainland following the stabbing of an officer outside the Sogo department store in Causeway Bay on July 1 that year.
The news about the weapon replacement came a day after an unintentional discharge of a revolver at a police station.
A police spokesman reported on Thursday night that the gun belonged to a male officer of Ngau Tau Kok division. The discharge took place when he was loading the weapon at the station. No one was injured.
