DESIGN
The P90 was designed in the late 1980’s for
two markets. First as a sub machine gun with
armor piercing capabilities. A lot of law-enforcement
agencies turned from their trusty 9mm MP5
to 5.56mm assault rifles, because nowadays
a lot of bad guys use body armor. Assault
rifles are far more cumbersome in close quarter
situations. A sub machine gun with the same
capabilities as an assault rifle was needed.
The second reason is that NATO started its
Personal Defence Weapon (PDW) program. The
PDW program was started to equip non-combat
personnel with a weapon that would be easy
to fire with one hand, good probability of
hit and reasonable lethality. The P90 uses
a shortened 5.56mm NATO round, called 5.7x28mm
SS190. The 5.7mm has a lower recoil than
a 9mm and pierces armor much better. The
P90 is fed by an orange or grey 50 round
magazine on top of the weapon. Shells are
not blown out but pushed out. A handful of
shells are always kept in the weapon. When
the next round is fired, the oldest shell
will be pushed out. The P90 has no iron sights.
A reflex sight is standard, but can be replaced
by Piccatiny rails, and thus every type of
sighting system. |
| There is only one version of the P90. |
PERFORMANCE
The P90 can be fitted with a wide variety
of attachments. Piccatiny rails are used
to attach sights, lasers or lights. Reloading
the P90 is a bit more difficult than other
weapon. The 50 round magazines ensure that
reloading is not often needed. Although the
P90 is outperformed by the MP-7, the P90
has some advantages: the basic load is 50
rounds, no stock has to be retracted and
the P90 is slightly more accurate. The P90
can be fired one handed, but with decreased
accuracy. The P90 can be fitted with a special,
and rather large, silencer. The P90 can be
quite silent if the silencer and subsonic
ammunition are used.
USE
- Used by Belgian law enforcement.
- In use by the Dutch BBE and commandos.
- Thailand
- Saudi Arabia
- Peru
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