With the relese of P-90 personal defence weapon, a revolution in small
arms design occured. The difference between an assult rifle and a submachine
gun and to some extent a pistol became very blurred.
The driving force behind the P-90 it its radical bullet: 5.7mm round
which is designed to penetrate hardened targets. In addition to P-90, in
1996 a new automatic called Five-seveN was unveiled by FN Herstal SA -
a division of Giat Industries.
With a 20 roun magazine fitted as standart "57" weighs around 30% less
than most 9mm automatics that have only half of it`s magazine capacity.
57 weighs 0.608kg empty. It is a double action design working on delayed
blow-back principle.It fires the breathtaking SS190 5.7 X 28mm round
- exactly the same as fired by the P-90.
FN officials claim that their aim was not to create a new caliber but to
replace 9mm as a round for pistols and submachine guns.
SS190 is intended to defeat targets on the 21st century battlefield such
as ceramic body-armour. A 9mm para wil dent but not penetrate a Kevlar
helmet at 10m , the 5.7mm will penetrate the helmet at 200m. It will also
go through 48 layers of Kevlar at 200m - a "9" will not penetrate more
than 6 at point blank. The Five-seveN is aimed at military and law-enforcment
market. New prototype features will include better sights and reduced trigger
pull - the weapon is planed for manufacture in 1997/8.
So far NATO working group has decided
that 9mm para is obsolete and that SS190 5.7 X 28 mm could replace it.
The P-90 Personal Defence
Weapon.
by Col.
Razumow
Green
Devils Legion 1999
cooments: demon@greendevils.com.pl