The Chinese Type 81 Assault Rifle is the principal automatic rifle used by the People's Liberation Army. It incorporates elements of the Dragunov, SKS, and AK series rifles. The weapon was introduced into PLA service in 1981 but did not become widely distributed until the late 1980s. It replaced the Type 56. Its first combat use came during the Sino-Vietnamese border conflicts of the mid 1980s. Unlike its predecessors, the Type 81 is a series of weapons. The Type 81 and Type 81-1 are assault rifles and the heavier Type 81 squad machine gun is used in the squad automatic weapon role.