Our MUNITION OF THE WEEK: THE FN HERSTAL P90 SUBMACHINE GUN
Designed by the Belgian firearms manufacturer Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, the Project 90 (P90) Submachine gun entered service in 1994 to satisfy NATO document D/296 which called for the creation of a new personal defense weapon (PDW). The P90 weighs 6.6 lbs fully loaded, has a total length of 19.7’’ and a 50 round magazine that loads into the top, parallel to the barrel. It has a maximum range of 220 yards. FN Herstal’s submachine gun bridges an important gap between handguns and rifles. This is because of its ability to accurately deliver a special 5.7 x 28 mm cartridge that is capable of piercing standard Warsaw Pact body armor while remaining small enough to be utilized in close quarter battles. The P90 has been incorporated into several different organizations, including the United States Secret Service, the Peruvian Navy special Forces and the Singaporean Commandos. The P90 has been dubbed the “forerunner� of the PDW concept that has emerged in the last four to five years.