FN P90 submachine gun cartridge caliber 5.7 mm. Device

FN P90 submachine gun with red dot sight

The FN P90 is a Belgian submachine gun developed in 1986-1987 by FN Herstal. It was developed primarily for tankers and drivers of combat vehicles and vehicles. It has a progressive and comfortable ergonomic design. A 5.7×28 mm SS190 cartridge was developed specifically for the P90, which has high penetrating power and a low degree of ricocheting.

Are cartridges of the same caliber different?

Yes, they are different, and that’s the point.
The caliber usually tells you only about the bullet, but does not contain information about the case. Cartridges of the same diameter (caliber) may have bullets of the same diameter, but different cartridge cases, powder loads and power. To avoid confusion in the supply of ammunition, cartridges are called differently. As a rule, different digital designations are used for cartridges with the same bullet diameter: .40 and .41. The third digit after the decimal point has no meaning in indicating the diameter of the bullet. Therefore, .223 and .225 cartridges have different designations only because of the cartridge cases.

Sometimes the bullet diameter and case height are indicated: 9x17, 9x18, 9x19, 9x21, 9x22, 9x23. The 9 mm caliber is very common, so much so that there are few cartridges with a case height of 18 mm. To avoid confusion, they are called differently: 9x18 Mak and 9x18 Ultra.

Example: 9x18 Mak - this is the name used to sell the cartridge for the Makarov pistol in the USA. The same cartridge can have several names. For example, 9 mm PM and 9x18Mak are the same cartridge. Example: “9 mm Steyr”, aka 9×23, aka “9 mm Largo” (9mm Largo), aka “9 mm Bergman / Bayard” and they also call it simply: “9 mm Big”, but this this is just a translation of “Largo” from Spanish. Likewise in other cases.

The same intermediate cartridge of the 1943 model

Small arms, ammunition, devices and accessories of the 19th-21st centuries

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A little history

Our heroes are based on the cartridge case of the 7.65×25 cartridge created in Germany for the Borchard pistol of the 1893 model.

In 1896, Paul Mauser’s company developed a version of this ammunition with an enhanced charge for its S-96 pistol, calling it 7.63×25 Mauser,” and in 1930 the Mauser cartridge, with minimal changes, was adopted into service in the USSR under the designation 7.62×25 .

7.65x25mm Borchardt, 7.63x25mm Mauser and 7.62x25mm Tokarev

Another German, Georg Luger, took up the Borchard cartridge, creating by 1900 a shortened version known as the 7.65x22Luger.” This cartridge, together with the Luger-designed Parabellum pistol, was offered to the German military.

In 1904, at the request of the German Navy, the caliber of the cartridge was increased to nine millimeters, and the 9×19 cartridge was born, which, unlike the predecessors listed above, had a cylindrical sleeve with minimal taper, without characteristic shoulders.” In 1908, the 9x19 cartridge was adopted by the German army as 9 mm Pistolen-patrone 08 - or Ppatr.08 for short.

7.65x22mm Luger and 9x19mm

And that’s where you wrap it all up...

How is a rifle different from a carbine and why do we have problems with terminology?

The caliber of a rifled handgun and the length of the barrel determine the name, or more precisely, the classification of small arms.

The rifles have a barrel length of approximately 70 calibers. Carbines - approximately 40-50 calibers. The names change accordingly. The barrel length of the AKM assault rifle is 415 mm. 415 : 7.62 = 54. That is, AKM is a “carbine”. The length of the AK-74 barrel is 415 mm: 5.45 = 76. That is, the AK-74 is already a “rifle”. Accordingly, the 5.45 mm cartridge is a rifle cartridge. The Americans quite correctly call their M-16 an automatic rifle (assault rifle), and not the abstraction “machine gun”. Accordingly, we need to put the entire classification in order, or rather “roll back” it to what it was before, before the advent of the Kalashnikov Automatic (AK):

• AKM - automatic carbine;
• AK-74 - automatic rifle;
• 5.45 mm cartridge - rifle cartridge.

Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov and the Kalashnikov assault rifle... or rather the Kalashnikov automatic carbine!

These terms are international and more correct than our “machine guns”. The word “automatic” itself is not even a technical term! The same, by the way, applies to the “term” “self-loading carbine,” which, for example, is the well-known Simonov Self-loading Carbine (SKS) in Russia. “According to science,” this product should be called a semi-automatic carbine. The Dragunov sniper rifle (SVD) is nothing more than a semi-automatic rifle. This is a normal international and, first of all, Russian classification.

(by caliber)

Calibers

Calibers

Cartridge 10.4×38 R Swiss / .41 Swiss

In 1869, the ammunition received the official designation “10.4×38 mm R Swiss Vetterli” after Switzerland adopted Europe’s first repeating Vetterli rifle, created specifically for this cartridge.

• Ammunition » Cartridges » 10 – 11 mm
• 2878

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Cartridge 10.15×63 R

The 10.15x63 R cartridge is a black powder rifle ammunition designed specifically for the Mauser-Milovanovic M 1880 rifle.

• Ammunition » Cartridges » 10 – 11 mm
• 2879

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Cartridge 11.15×36 R Frühwirth

The 11.15×36 R cartridge was created by the Austrian company of George Roth “George Roth & Co” in 1871 for use in the Fruhwirth system carbine of the 1872 model, adopted by the gendarmerie and border troops.

• Ammunition » Cartridges » 11 – 12 mm
• 2880

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Cartridge 10.4×47 R Vetterli

The 10.4×47 R cartridge, as in the case of the rifle, was based on 10.4×38 R ammunition from a Swiss model. The cartridge case was lengthened and a central firing system was introduced.

• Ammunition » Cartridges » 10 – 11 mm
• 2881

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Cartridge .450 Mars Short / 11.2×20

The .450 Mars Short (short) cartridge is a less powerful version of the .450 Mars Long (long) cartridge, from which it differs only in the length of the sleeve reduced by 8 mm. The .450 Mars Short cartridge consisted of a case, a center firing primer, a charge and a bullet.

• Ammunition » Cartridges » 11 – 12 mm
• 4397

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  Read also:  SPECIAL AUTOMATIC AS “VAL” AND SPECIAL SNIPER RIFLE VSS “VINTOREZ”

Cartridge 7 mm STE / 7mm Shooting Times Easterner

The 7 mm STE cartridge was specifically developed for lever-action rifles (such as the Marlin 336 and Winchester 94) in 1987 by Lane Simpson.

• Ammunition » Cartridges » 7 – 8 mm
• 4424

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.475 Nitro Express 3 1/2″

The .475 Nitro Express 3 1/2″ cartridge was created and began to be produced in England in 1907. Just like the .465 Nitro Express, it was intended to replace the old .450 caliber cartridges.

• Ammunition » Cartridges » 12 – 13 mm
• 4464

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Cartridge 8×54 Krag Jorgensen

The 8×54 Krag Jorgensen cartridge was created in Norway at the very end of the 19th century and was intended for sport shooting and hunting.

• Ammunition » Cartridges » 8 – 9 mm
• 4467

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.219 Zipper cartridge

The .219 Zipper cartridge was developed by the American company Winchester in 1937 for its Winchester M 64 rifle. The basis was the cartridge case from the .25-35 WCF cartridge.

• Ammunition » Cartridges » 5 – 6 mm
• 4473

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.375 A-Square cartridge

The .375 A-Square Belted Magnum cartridge was created in 1975 and is a modification of the .378 Weatherby Magnum cartridge.

• Ammunition » Cartridges » 9 – 10 mm
• 4478

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Cartridge 8×56 Mannlicher-Schoenauer

The 8×56 Mannlicher-Schoenauer cartridge began to be produced in Austria in 1908. In addition to Austria, its production was once established in England and the Czech Republic.

• Ammunition » Cartridges » 8 – 9 mm
• 4481

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.220 Weatherby Rocket cartridge

The super-velocity .220 Weatherby Rocket cartridge was developed by Roy Weatherby in 1943 (i.e., before the official establishment of the Weatherby brand).

• Ammunition » Cartridges » 5 – 6 mm
• 4485

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Types of pneumatics 5.5

Gun manufacturers weaken their products to 3 J by making design changes. The method of reducing power depends on the type of pistol/rifle:

• spring-piston (PPP);
• with pumping system (PCP).

“Muffled” PPPs have a narrow bypass hole and a weak coiled spring. Low-power PSPs are sold with a modified trigger and a narrowed bypass.

And now the facts about 5.5 pneumatics - the pros and cons of buying.

Spring-piston systems

Advantages of spring-piston devices:

• low price;
• strong shot;
• ease of operation;
• bullets are the only consumables.

Disadvantages of PPP:

• strong recoil when shooting;
• diesel effect;
• accelerated wear of functional parts.

Other minor disadvantages of piston rifles and pistols are single-shot nature and difficulty in cocking. Owners of “magnums” and “supermagnums” are experiencing problems.

Combustion products from the diesel effect contaminate the barrel bore and the air cylinder chamber. The piston cuff is subject to burning, and the spring inevitably shrinks. The sharp movement of parts creates strong recoil. As a result, the accuracy of shooting decreases. Especially if the rifle has a coil spring rather than a gas spring.

The power of the 4.5 mm PPP can be increased to 7.5 J. Strengthening the “papal” device will go against the legislation of the Russian Federation: it is necessary to register the ROC.

Even “magnum” class 4.5 mm blowguns are automatically classified as licensed or hunting weapons. The energy of such “airs” in caliber 5.5 is from 16 to 25 J. The actual initial speed: when using heavy bullets - from 250 m/s, light ones - 300 or more. This is enough to kill small or medium game.

5.5 piston pistols are not sold, and would be useless for hunting. There are several reasons:

1. Design features.
2. Low sighting range.

The .22 cal IPP is not easy to acquire. In Russia, “air vents” with a pre-inflation system are common.

PCP rifles and pistols

Advantages of pneumatic devices with an inflation system:

• build quality;
• powerful and accurate shooting;
• multi-charge;
• stability;
• Availability for purchase without a license.

Cons of PCP:

• high price;
• long preparation for shooting;
• subtleties of shooting;
• features of care and storage.

Compression samples are made using high-tech equipment and from reliable materials. The starting price for a good imported sample is 40,000 rubles. Domestic ones are cheaper.

PCP 4.5 can be weakened by manufacturers up to 7.5 J. Samples with “papal” barrels enter the market as KSOI - objects for entertainment, although 5.5 mm is a hunting barrel diameter. The buyer is recommended to clarify the information in advance: whether it is necessary to provide a license for a specific PSP device.

This elite type of pneumatic is the choice for the best recreational and practical shooting. Compression weapons are silent compared to SPP.

Pistol Leader TT

The TTK-F pistol is produced on the basis of TT in Russia.
This is a shortened version of the TT pistol due to the barrel and bolt casing. All main parts of the pistol (frame, barrel and slide) were made from scratch. The remaining components and parts (trigger assembly, magazine, firing pin, springs, ejector and magazine) are taken from the spare parts for the TT pistol. Due to the width of the magazine, the pistol uses a 10x32T cartridge. Taking into account the very low cost of this spare parts and accessories, the pricing of the TTK-F is not clear, the cost of which is comparable to models containing foreign-made parts and assemblies. In general, the TTK-F turned out to be a very good pistol (despite the lack of self-cocking in the trigger), if not for the very weak 10x32T cartridge and the high price for which you can buy a more powerful pistol, converted in Russia from foreign-made weapons or their parts, under cartridge 9 mm RA. Therefore, if you choose “with your wallet”, then with a smaller resource (relative to steel structures) and a price similar to domestic pistols, but with more “spirited” power characteristics, it is better to opt for self-defense weapons made of alloys.

In addition to better ergonomics and greater compactness, these models are more reliable. If you opt for pistols made of steel, then, of course, at a higher cost, they are just as much more suitable for self-defense. Both in terms of ergonomics and power, and in terms of resource. However, we should not forget that even a Leader pistol in the skillful hands of a trained shooter will be much more effective than the most expensive traumatic pistol in the hands of an untrained shooter. True, the same trained shooter with a higher-quality traumatic pistol will be able to repel an attack even faster and better.

Five-seveN pistol chambered for 5.7x28

In the article about the P90 submachine gun, you could get acquainted with the 5.7x28 cartridge, but the submachine gun described in the article is not the only weapon chambered for this cartridge. In addition to this sample, there is also a pistol with a fairly large magazine capacity, while the length of the weapon’s handle remains within reasonable limits. We are talking about a pistol from the FN Five-Seven company, or more correctly, Five-seveN, since this is the name of the weapon declared by the manufacturer and the abbreviation of the company name is indicated in capital letters. It is with this sample, or rather with several variants of this pistol, that we will try to get acquainted in this article.

This sample pistol appeared as an addition to the P90 submachine gun, so we can already talk about a cartridge-weapon complex, and not about a single copy. Considering that the submachine gun itself turned out to be quite unusual, many expect that the pistol will also be a not entirely classic design, but this is absolutely not the case. Although if you look at the weapon carefully, you will notice that many aspects of it are really interesting and deserve, if not praise, then at least attention, but in general, nothing super new has been used in the weapon. The pistol was developed back in the late 80s of the last century, but its production was launched only in 1998. It was then that the first version of this weapon appeared.

The first version of the pistol was offered to the army as a weapon for personal protection. Indeed, this pistol is always ready to fire. It uses only a double-action trigger mechanism, that is, before each shot, when you press the trigger, it is cocked and then released. In addition, there is an automatic safety that blocks the firing pin until the trigger is fully pulled, which prevents accidental firing, even if the cartridge is in the chamber. Accidental pressing of the trigger is also partially excluded, since the pressing force due to self-cocking is quite large. Thus, this pistol turns out to be a “pull-and-shoot” weapon, but at the same time quite safe to wear. The distinctive feature of this pistol is that it does not have a safety switch, and its safety guard is quite complex in shape. Sights consist of a front sight, which is made as a separate part from the bolt casing, as well as the whole thing, which is installed on a dovetail-type seat. Under the barrel of the weapon, in the frame there is a seat for additional devices, such as a compact flashlight for target illumination or a laser target designator. The magazine with a capacity of 20 rounds is locked using a button on the left side of the weapon.

Some time after the release of the army version of the pistol, an option for the police was proposed. Despite its external similarity with the previous version of the weapon, this pistol is somewhat different in its design and design. First of all, the main difference is the single-action trigger mechanism, that is, before firing, you need to pull the bolt back to cock the firing mechanism; naturally, after each shot, this all happens automatically. In order to be able to safely carry a weapon with a cartridge in the chamber, a non-automatic fuse is provided. Thus, in order to prepare for a shot, the weapon must either be removed from the safety catch, or not use it and not carry a pistol with a cartridge in the chamber, pulling back the bolt if necessary to use the weapon. On the one hand, the fact that the pistol has to be prepared before use is a minus, but most models of pistols have this “minus”, so this is not worth taking into account, but the fact that when pressing the trigger you need to apply less force compared to the previous version of the pistol, and this is, of course, a plus, since thanks to this the shooting accuracy is significantly increased, but on the contrary, comparatively. In all other respects, the weapon was completely similar to the previous model. This sample had a prefix to the name Tactical.

The production of this pistol did not last long; already in 2004, this model was replaced by a pistol marked IOM (Individual Officers Model). Despite its name, this pistol entered the civilian arms market, where people first became acquainted with it, but they already knew about the ammunition from the civilian version of the P90 without the possibility of automatic fire. Externally, this pistol can be distinguished by the Picatinny rail under the barrel on the weapon frame, as well as by the new shape of the bolt casing. Internally, this pistol has not changed compared to the previous model. True, the weapon was supplemented with one more feature that made it safer, namely an automatic magazine safety. This addition is necessary primarily due to the fact that cases when the owner removes the magazine from the pistol and believes that after that the weapon is completely safe are not at all uncommon. As a result of this, a cartridge remains in the chamber of the pistol and, despite the absence of a magazine, the pistol is completely ready to fire, in fact this is the reason for frequent accidents with pistols, and not only with them. With the Five-seveN IOM pistol, this situation is excluded, since a shot without an inserted magazine is impossible. But this weapon was produced for only a short time, and soon the company presented the next version of the pistol, this time the final one.

The next version of the weapon received the name Five-seveN USG (United States Government), after this version of the weapon went into mass production, other models were discontinued and at the moment this pistol is the only mass-produced version of the weapon. Externally, the pistol is very easy to recognize and distinguish from other previous versions; the whole point is that in this pistol the safety guard is no longer of a complex shape, but ordinary, large, straight, which turned out to be much more convenient than previous versions. In general, it seems to me that the previous versions of the safety brackets were made only so that the weapon would be recognizable, but when it had already gained some popularity, they decided to return to the “classics”. The sighting devices have also undergone changes. At first, the rear sight of the pistol was adjustable, then options with a non-adjustable rear sight appeared, and then both versions of sighting devices could be found in the weapon set, and it was easy to replace them yourself, since they were removable. At the moment, various versions of this pistol are offered, and the variety even concerns the texture of the weapon’s handle, which, in my opinion, is clearly too much. Even the linings on the bolt casing, which are made for more comfortable holding, can have both notches and simply bulges, while they are removable and the shooter can choose what he likes best. The trigger mechanism of the pistol is the same as in previous models except for the first single action.

As you can see, the layout of the controls is the same in all weapon variants. So, in all but the first version of the pistol, there are very small safety levers, which are duplicated on both sides of the weapon. These switches are located above the trigger of the pistol, which requires a certain habit, since switching them is now most conveniently done with the index finger of the holding hand. According to the designers, this reduces the time required to prepare for the first shot. To disassemble the weapon, it is enough to pull the bolt all the way back, lock it and press the pistol barrel lock, after which the bolt casing is smoothly moved forward, being removed from the pistol, and the barrel itself, with the return spring wrapped around it, is separated from the frame of the weapon. The interesting thing about all this is that the return spring itself, firstly, is wrapped around the barrel, and secondly, the return spring is fixed and cannot fly off the barrel of the weapon and get lost, which is a plus when servicing in the field, when everything is done literally I mean, on the knee. A noteworthy point is that the company’s specialists prohibit further disassembly of the weapon, and now you can think about this. Either the gun is not as simple and well thought out as it seems, or too many people have their hands growing in the wrong place, so a complete disassembly should be done for them by a qualified specialist, as required by the company. The only point that remains unclear to me is whether the warranty on the weapon is lost if it is completely disassembled and reassembled.

Well, now the most important thing. Five-seveN pistols are built according to a semi-blowback design, no one knows how the designers managed to do this... Just kidding, this time everything is as simple as a shovel. Just look at the window for ejecting spent cartridges and estimate the thickness of the bolt casing, the weight of which is greater than the weight of the remaining components of the weapon. So there’s a stiff recoil spring, a heavy bolt, a housing-bolt barrel connection, and you can shoot 5.7x28 cartridges. Logically, the large weight of the bolt casing should have had a significant impact on the accuracy of the fire, but here the designers also thought of everything. The barrel of the weapon is low, therefore the recoil vector when firing is lower than that of other pistols. It is also important that the casing-bolt moves along the internal guides of the frame, which allows you to extend the service life of the weapon, since with this arrangement of parts the “looseness” during operation is lower , which inversely affects shooting accuracy. By the way, this is confirmed by the fact that the manufacturer guarantees more than 20 thousand shots from the weapon with proper care and maintenance, apparently servicing by specialists who can perform a complete disassembly.

Just like the P90 submachine gun, Five-seveN pistols leave a double impression. On the one hand, the weapon seems to be quite effective thanks to the ammunition against opponents wearing personal armor protection, but on the other hand, I personally don’t believe in the stopping effect of the 5.7x28 cartridge bullet. Thus, the weapon is mainly not intended for the civilian market because of its ammunition, since in the civilian market, it seems to me, pistols chambered for cartridges with heavy, albeit slower, bullets are more in demand.

In fact, this is confirmed by the fact that on the civilian market the popularity of this pistol was in the form of a flash - it appeared, they tried it, it was declared unsuitable. The weapon also did not catch on in the military environment; after all, both the cartridge itself and the weapon are unsuitable for widespread distribution, no matter how much sympathy one may feel for it, but many accepted the pistol for service. This weapon is used where a collision with an enemy protected by body armor is guaranteed, as well as where a weapon with an expanded magazine capacity is required. By the way, the pistol for the civilian market comes with magazines with a capacity of 10 rounds, where there is a limit on the amount of ammunition in the magazine. A standard magazine is considered to be a magazine with a capacity of 20 rounds; a magazine with an increased capacity holds 30 rounds, but at the same time protrudes down beyond the pistol grip.

Well, in conclusion, the most important thing is the numbers. The total length of the pistol with a barrel length of 122 millimeters is 208 millimeters. The height of the weapon with a standard magazine is 145 millimeters. The width of the pistol is considerable - 36 millimeters. The weapon weighs about 600 grams without cartridges, and the weight can vary within narrow limits due to the fact that the pistol handle can be equipped with various removable rear parts. The effective range of use of weapons is up to 50 meters, although the target can be confidently hit at a distance of 150 meters, how far the bullet flies while maintaining lethal energy, unfortunately, the data differs, so it is better to remain silent about them.

In general, such a weapon was created as a company for the P90 submachine gun

Story

In 1986, the Belgian company Fabrique Nationale (FN) began developing a new 5.7x28 mm cartridge. The purpose of the creation was to develop a weapon for self-defense of crews of tanks, armored personnel carriers, helicopters, etc., which was superior in efficiency to weapons chambered for the 9x19 mm cartridge. As a result, the SS190 cartridge (base cartridge 5.7x28 mm) was created, capable of penetrating the standard body armor of a potential enemy at a distance of 200 meters, specified by NATO CRISAT requirements.

Due to recent NATO studies regarding the superiority of the 5.7x28mm cartridge over the German 4.6x30mm cartridge and the conclusion of a panel of experts that the former was superior, the German and other delegations rejected NATO's recommendation to standardize the 5.7x28 cartridge mm, as a result of which the process of standardization of this cartridge in NATO countries was postponed indefinitely.

Cartridge 5.7×28

Published by admin on Sun, 04/12/2009 – 19:05

Cartridge 5.7×28 (SS190), Belgium

Performance characteristics of 5.7x28:

Caliber, mm – 5.7x28 Cartridge length, mm – 42.64 Case length, mm – 28.84 Case neck diameter, mm – 6.35 Case neck diameter, mm – 6.45 Case shoulder diameter, mm – 7.87 Diameter case base, mm – 7.91 Case flange diameter, mm – 7.79 Bullet weight, g – 1 – 3.5 Powder charge weight, g: 0.48-0.52 Initial bullet speed, m/s – 305- 850 Bullet energy, J – 467-540 Powder gas pressure, MPa – 345.00 (50,040 psi)

The 5.7×28 (SS190) cartridge was developed by the Belgian company Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN Herstal) specifically for the FN P90 submachine gun in the mid-1980s. This cartridge was later used in the Five SeveN pistol.

The 5.7x28 caliber ammunition was developed to replace the 9x19mm caliber cartridge as the standard cartridge for light firearms, primarily pistols and submachine guns. The new cartridge is a smaller version of the 5.56 mm NATO cartridge.

The cartridge has more penetrating power than other pistol cartridges. The bullet develops a muzzle velocity of up to 716 m/s and is capable of penetrating body armor. The stopping effect of the bullet is three times higher than that of the 9x19 mm cartridge.

Caliber history: Belgian 5.7x28 mm

We tell you how a small-caliber high-velocity bullet for special forces appeared

Many armies faced the problem of “weapons for the rear” in full during the Second World War. The mechanization of war led to the fact that for the “active bayonets” on the front line, be it infantrymen in the trenches, tank crews or pilots, the work of many people in the rear was required - including in the near field, where the possibility of entering into battle is by no means zero. In addition to drivers and cooks, there were also crews of “group weapons” and many more military people for whom full-fledged infantry weapons - a rifle or machine gun - were redundant and simply inconvenient in everyday work. In the USA, it was within the framework of this concept that the M1 Carbine was created. Such projects were also developed in the USSR, in particular, in 1942, experimental carbines chambered for the TT cartridge were tested, but in the end it was considered that these weapons did not have significant advantages over submachine guns.

M1 Carbine

A new round in the history of PDW (Personal defense weapon) began at the end of the 20th century, when NATO experts drew attention to the emergence of mass-produced body armor. The 9x19 mm cartridge, which was standard in the alliance for pistols and submachine guns, had limited effectiveness even against “soft” Kevlar armor, not to mention army “cuirasses” with titanium plates. Thus, CRISAT, adopted as the standard for protecting a “conditional enemy,” contained titanium plates with a total thickness of 1.6 mm, reinforced with 20 layers of Kevlar. From this point on, the task of ammunition developers was to reliably penetrate CRISAT body armor and disable a living target behind it.

One of the options proposed for the role of the new PDW alliance was a complex developed by the Belgian FN Herstal, consisting of the FN P90 submachine gun and the Five-SeveN pistol. But the main highlight was the 5.7x28 mm cartridge. The small-caliber high-velocity bullet demonstrated significantly better penetration performance than the 9x19 mm, while having less recoil. The smaller diameter of the cartridge made it possible to place 20 rounds in a standard pistol magazine, and all 50 for a submachine gun. Thanks to the widespread use of plastics and the original layout, the weapon turned out to be light, compact and usable. Small, easily controlled recoil during automatic fire, a high-speed cartridge with good ballistics and a capacious magazine fully fit into the concept of a weapon for rear guards. These “also fighters” usually did not need to fire further than 200 meters, and in close combat a soldier with a P90 stood a good chance against more traditional systems. The P90 was also very popular in Hollywood for its futuristic appearance, but that’s a completely different story.

During a series of tests carried out in 2002 and 2003, the Belgian cartridge, according to testers, outperformed the similar HK 4.6 × 30 mm project. Nevertheless, the Germans refused to switch to the Belgian cartridge, and as a result, the topic of a new “all-NATO” PDW gradually died out. But the cartridge and the weapon for it remained. Five-SeveN and FN P90 became interested in soldiers of special units of the army and police, who are at the opposite pole from drivers in terms of their level of combat training. For example, already in 1999, the first FN P90 was purchased by the Houston, Texas police department for its SWAT team. As one of the officers who used it wrote: “I concede that the P90 is not all things to all people. However, for what I do, as a SWAT officer in a major city, it's a great weapon."

Of course, journalists also could not ignore the new weapons that appeared in the United States (with a number of restrictions) on the civilian market. The pistol and carbine have been dubbed "cop killers" for their supposed ability to penetrate standard police protection. However, cartridges with bullets with increased penetration are not available for civilians, and the commercially available options are not designed to penetrate protective equipment, as confirmed by tests by both government institutions and numerous American babahing enthusiasts. In addition, the pistol itself and its ammunition are more expensive than the usual 9x19 mm, and therefore its use by criminals is practically not noted. In fact, the only reliably known case of a Five-SeveN police officer being injured in the United States occurred in 2009 at Fort Hood during a mass shooting carried out by Army psychiatrist Nidal Hassan. And even there, shooting was carried out with SS192 (hollow-point) and SS197SR (sporting round) cartridges, which are not classified as armor-piercing. In any case, Fort Hood became a strong argument in favor of the correctness of the concept chosen by the FN Herstal specialists (light cartridge - large magazine - a lot of shooting), although it is unlikely that any of them counted on such proof.

But even without such “evidence,” 5.7x28 mm is deservedly considered one of the most successful representatives of the new generation of military ammunition today, which is sometimes also called “micropulse cartridges.” Work on them has been carried out and is now being carried out in many countries, however, not everyone has been able to achieve a successful result so far.

FN Five-seven

Published by admin on Sat, 02/07/2009 – 18:48

Pistol FN Five-seveN

Tactical and technical characteristics of FN Five-seveN: Caliber, mm – 5.7x28 Length, mm – 208 Barrel length, mm – 122 Height, mm – 137 Width, mm – 36 Weight without cartridges, g – 610 Magazine, no. cartridges – 10 (limited); 20 (standard); 30 (extended)

In the late 1980s, the famous Belgian company Fabrique Nationale Herstal developed the FN P-90 submachine gun as a personal self-defense weapon (PDW - Personal Defense Weapon) for military personnel not involved in combat missions. Together with the weapon, a new cartridge 5.7x28 FN was created, which has high penetration ability (according to the manufacturer, a bullet with a steel core is capable of penetrating 48 layers of Kevlar fabric from a distance of 150 meters and maintaining a fairly high stopping effect).

The developers considered the new weapon-cartridge complex (FN P-90 submachine gun and 5.7x28 mm cartridge) so successful that they decided to create a pistol in addition to this. As a result, in 1996, FN introduced its new pistol chambered for 5.7x28 mm, designated “Five-seveN” and intended for arming army and police units. The name of the pistol Five-seveN is an interesting combination: on the one hand, Five-seveN is “5-7” - the caliber of the weapon, and on the other, the first and last letters of the name, written in capitals, are the abbreviation of the company Fabrique Nationale.

FN P90 submachine gun - video

Many people compare this submachine gun with other models that have a large-capacity magazine, but this is far from the main feature of this weapon; in my opinion, the ammunition used in this submachine gun is of much greater interest. It is the ammunition that sets the main characteristics of the weapon; the P90 submachine gun itself is just a means of realizing these characteristics, although quite interesting solutions are used in this means of realizing the capabilities of the cartridge. In general, one way or another, let's start getting acquainted with the weapon with its cartridge.

The 5.7x28 cartridge was designed specifically for the P90 submachine gun, that is, the designers approached the issue of creating a new weapon globally, deciding to make a sample that was not tied to common ammunition, and therefore to its characteristics. None of the earlier cartridges were taken as a basis, so the result depended entirely on the skills of the designers.

This cartridge is not young, it appeared in the second half of the 80s of the last century, while its prospects were clear to everyone, and within a few years its Chinese analogue appeared with a smaller weight of gunpowder and cartridge length, but also a small caliber 5.8x21. The promise of the new cartridge lay in the fact that it could easily cope with penetrating personal armor, which older ammunition could not cope with, unless, of course, you take into account monster-like cartridges. First of all, the designers set a goal to create ammunition that would replace 9x19 in pistols and submachine guns, but as we can see, this never happened, and is unlikely to happen.

Many sources claim the incredible stopping power of the bullet of this cartridge, saying that such a “how much” value as the stopping power of a 9x19 cartridge bullet is three times lower than that of a 5.7x28 cartridge bullet. Is it worth believing this, given that the bullet has less weight, a smaller caliber and a higher speed, let everyone decide for themselves separately, but just in case, it’s worth recalling the 7.62x25 cartridge and what exactly people were not happy with about this cartridge in comparison with everything the same 9x19.

Even if we imagine that the movement of a bullet in the human body will be chaotic and unpredictable, then there is still no guarantee that this bullet will start moving exactly this way and not otherwise, so I personally don’t believe in the high stopping effect of this ammunition, but try it for yourself I wouldn't risk it. You can also often come across the statement that the 5.7x28 cartridge is created on the basis of the 5.56x45 cartridge, and this information sometimes appears in fairly authoritative publications; anyone can compare both cartridges. In addition to the P90 submachine gun, this ammunition is also used in the Five Seven pistol, which appeared a little later.

Despite its small distribution, this cartridge has a fairly wide range. The standard version of the cartridge with a bullet weighing only 2.1 grams with a steel core has an initial bullet speed of 716 meters per second (hereinafter for the P90 PP). The kinetic energy of the bullet is about 460 Joules. It is indicated by black paint on the tip or has no designation at all. There is also a cartridge with a tracer bullet, which completely replicates the characteristics of the main ammunition, indicated by red or red and black paint on the tip of the bullet.

A cartridge with a bullet in which the core is made of aluminum is indicated by blue paint, the bullet of this cartridge has even less weight - 1.8 grams, but its speed is even reduced to 700 meters per second, apparently at higher speeds the bullet behaves unstable. The kinetic energy of the bullet is about 440 Joules. Such bullet speeds could not ensure normal operation of weapons with silent shooting devices; or rather, the weapon worked normally, but the bullets whistled in the literal sense of the word. It was precisely in order to make it possible to use PBS that bullets with subsonic speed were developed, but since the bullet has a low weight, you can’t limit yourself to just reducing the powder charge and you had to increase the weight of the thrown projectile so that when it hits it does not leave bruises, but causes serious injuries.

So the weight of the subsonic cartridge bullet became 3.5 grams, and the bullet speed is 305 meters per second, that is, the kinetic energy of the bullet is somewhere around 170 Joules. Such cartridges are indicated by white paint on the bullet. The so-called training cartridge, completely similar in its parameters and design to cartridges with a bullet with an aluminum core, this cartridge is intended for training shooting. Indicated by green paint on the tip of the bullet. There is also a fully lead jacketed bullet, the so-called reduced ricochet bullet. But what parameters it has are unknown, but it is known that an expansive bullet for the 5.7x28 cartridge was created on its basis.

Well, it would be dishonest not to talk about the results of firing with this cartridge. At a distance of 150 meters, the cartridge is guaranteed to penetrate a steel helmet, although it is not specified which one. From 50 meters, there is a 100% guarantee that the bullet will penetrate 48 layers of Kevlar-based fabric. The results are really good, but as I said above, I don’t believe in the stopping effect of the bullets of these cartridges, but the fact that personal armor penetrates, yes, that’s good. Let's now move directly to the weapon itself, that is, the P90 submachine gun.

The submachine gun itself is one of those few weapons that can boast a large-capacity magazine while maintaining normal dimensions. The design of the weapon is such that, in general, the weapon does not have anything supernatural, but the magazine of the submachine gun deserves attention. The fact is that almost all firearms magazines that have become widespread have a design in which the cartridges are positioned with the bullet forward, towards the barrel of the weapon. This arrangement makes it easier to feed ammunition into the chamber, for which the bolt simply pushes the cartridge from the back of the cartridge case. In the case of the P90 submachine gun, everything happens in a similar way, but before feeding a cartridge into the chamber, the ammunition is rotated ninety degrees. On the one hand, the store design is quite standard.

FN P90 TR submachine gun with silencer, optical sight, tactical flashlight and cartridge case catcher

The box, made of transparent plastic, serves as the body of the magazine, thanks to which you can control the number of cartridges remaining for use. Inside the plastic case there is a feeder and its spring. The store itself is designed for a two-row arrangement of ammunition. It seems that everything is normal and simple, but this magazine is attached to the weapon along its receiver, which allows the use of large-capacity magazines without increasing the overall dimensions of the weapon. Thus, when attaching a magazine along a weapon, a problem arises, which is that the cartridges in the magazine are located in relation to the barrel at an angle of ninety degrees, accordingly, in order for the cartridge to be fed into the chamber, it must first be rotated to the correct position. It is this task that is performed by a separate element of the magazine, which picks up the cartridge from the magazine when the bolt moves backward, turns and allows the bolt to pick up the cartridge and send it into the chamber simply when moving forward. Naturally, such a design is less reliable than the common ones even with ideal production, and in addition to everything, plastic has found wide use in the design of both the submachine gun itself and the magazine, and no matter how I personally am convinced otherwise, for now I remain in the opinion that high-quality steel is more reliable and durable. An interesting point is that charging the magazine does not require additional devices and can be easily done manually.

Since 2005, the FN PS90 semi-automatic carbine for the civilian market. It differs from the prototype in its elongated barrel and the inability to fire in bursts

The appearance of the weapon is also not entirely ordinary and at first glance one can easily decide that such a sample is absolutely inconvenient. The weapon does not have the usual pistol grip, fore-end or additional handle; instead, plastic elements are used, through the holes through which the shooter’s thumbs pass. The shooter's palm rests on the back of these unusually shaped handles. In other words, holding a weapon is no different from holding the same pistol grip and an additional grip, but at the same time, the weapon is much more difficult to knock out of the shooter’s hands, and the holding itself seems more convenient, although this is more a matter of habit and personal preference. On both sides of the weapon there is a safety switch-fire mode switch, and it is located under the trigger, which significantly speeds up the process of switching the weapon from one mode to another and removing it from the safety. The sighting devices of the submachine gun are represented by a built-in collimator sight. Any other sighting devices can be installed in its place, although this can be done by installing an additional rack with three Picatinny rails. Open sights can also be installed, but due to the short sighting line, the range of use of the weapon is limited, and the effectiveness is generally reduced.

Partial disassembly of FN P90

The layout of the weapon, despite the location of the store, is bullpup. This made it possible to create a more stable model when firing than those made in the classical layout, and also made it possible to install a long barrel. The automatic operation of the weapon is based on a free shutter, in other words, everything is common and has already been tested in many other models. The shot is fired from a closed bolt. The length of the weapon is 500 millimeters, while the barrel length is 263 millimeters. Weight without ammunition is just over 2.5 kilograms, rate of fire is 900 rounds per minute, which should be to compensate for the not-great stopping effect, effective range of up to 200 meters.

This weapon is in service in different countries, mainly in places where money is not spared for weapons and ammunition and where people using these weapons instantly assess the enemy and determine the best place to shoot with maximum efficiency. In other words, the weapon is somewhat specific in itself due to the ammunition, and is also intended for high-class professionals, so it is not widely used. What makes this weapon stand out is that it is quite popular in cinema and computer games, and it pays for the production and development of mainly civilian versions, which have a longer barrel and are deprived of the ability to fire automatically.

Unique FN P90 magazine with a capacity of 50 rounds

It is quite difficult to evaluate a weapon; on the one hand, the sample is certainly interesting, even promising to some extent, but when you ask yourself the question about the effectiveness and reliability of a weapon, you cannot answer unequivocally. The design of the magazine does not inspire confidence, which is clearly inferior in durability to simple box magazines without bells and whistles. Not the greatest stopping effect of ammunition bullets, although with a fairly high percentage of penetration of personal protective equipment, also have both their pros and cons, this and much more allows us to doubt that the weapon is as good as it is considered. Of course, in the army environment, where the provision of weapons and their repair is established at a “five plus” level, such a model has the right to exist and will differ only in its best aspects, the disadvantages will be compensated by the lack of sloppiness, but how many such armies are there? I think that this is the very reason why we can say that the weapon was ahead of its time and neither the ammunition nor the submachine gun itself had anything to do with it. Well, as for the specialty of weapons, not only in the security services of top officials there are professionals who know which way to approach weapons. In general, why should we look at the P90 when we have a simple and reliable Veresk, with a 9x21 cartridge, albeit not so fashionable, but clearly no less effective.

High-velocity cartridge for FN P90 small caliber, 5.7 × 28 mm

What benefits will the creation of a pistol of extreme parameters bring?

First of all, this is an increase in stopping power and the probability of hitting a target due to the summation of the effect of being hit by two bullets. It’s just that it’s more difficult to achieve this effect with two shots in a row due to the displacement of the weapon and the slower rate of fire “manually”. On the other hand, rapid shooting in doubles from a pistol with maximum parameters will significantly increase the probability of guaranteed target destruction compared to pistols of a classical design.

The combination of new bullet materials and the impact of two bullets at almost the same point can ensure the destruction of targets protected by NIB, even designed for protection against automatic weapons chambered for an intermediate cartridge, due to the sequential impact on the NIB elements. It must be taken into account that a pistol is a melee weapon, and at a short distance the spread of bullets will be minimal, and ensuring that two machine gun ammunition hits almost the same point is much more difficult, even using a recoil accumulation scheme.

In the end, it cannot be denied that the advisability of firing pistols in bursts and short bursts was studied, and pistols of this design were promoted by the famous designer I. Ya. Stechkin. Perhaps only time did not allow him to create a weapon similar to the one discussed in this article.

Source - https://topwar.ru/163548-perspektivnyj-armejskij-pistolet-na-baze-koncepcii-pdw.html

Pistols and small caliber submachine guns

Since we are considering the possibility of converting an army pistol to a small caliber, it is worth getting a little familiar with samples of small arms of this type.

First of all, these are, of course, weapons chambered for 5.7x28 mm and 4.6x30 mm - the FN Five-seveN pistol, the FN P90 submachine gun and the HK MP7 submachine gun.

Pistol FN Five-seveN caliber 5.7x28 mm

Scheme of operation of the FN Five-seveN pistol

Weapons of 5.7x28 mm and 4.6x30 mm caliber are quite widespread in the world. For example, the FN Five-seveN pistol is in service with law enforcement agencies in countries such as Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, France, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Italy, Libya, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Suriname, Thailand, United States.

The FN P90 submachine gun is used in Austria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Cyprus, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Poland , Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, USA, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Chile, Philippines, France. The HK MP7 submachine gun is used in Austria, the Vatican, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Jordan, Norway, Oman, the Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, the USA, and Japan.

According to some reports, Russian special forces also have a small number of FN P90 and HK MP7 submachine guns.

5.7x28mm cartridges produced by various manufacturers (by the way, apparently fragmenting). These are not produced for unpopular weapons.

Weapons chambered for 5.7x28 mm, the Fort-28 pistol, were even produced by a Ukrainian company, whose products are familiar to many Russian citizens from traumatic weapons.

Pistol Fort-28 caliber 5.7x28 mm

The American Kel-Tec PMR-30 pistol of .22 WMR caliber can be considered a rather interesting example of small arms. Its distinctive features include its low weight - 0.385 kg without a magazine and 0.555 kg with a loaded magazine, as well as a large ammunition load of 30 rounds of .22 WMR ammunition. Users note the extremely low recoil and ease of shooting from this pistol. Although the Kel-Tec PMR-30 pistol has a muzzle energy of only 190 J, it is believed that this is due to the slow burning of the .22 WMR cartridge, which is optimized for long rifle barrels, in which the .22 WMR cartridge exhibits initial energy of the order of 400 J (in a short pistol barrel, the powder charge may not burn completely).

Kel-Tec PMR-30 .22 WMR pistol

The Kel-Tec CP33 pistol in .22 LR caliber has an even more impressive 33 rounds of ammunition. The cartridges are placed in a four-row magazine consisting of two compartments.

Kel-Tec CP33 .22 LR pistol

.22 LR and .22 WMR cartridges

An interesting fact was revealed when shooting from another sample of small-caliber small arms - the American American-180 submachine gun of .22 LR caliber. This weapon is distinguished by a high-capacity magazine with 180 rounds of ammunition and a high rate of fire of 1200 - 1500 rounds per minute. Despite the minimal damaging properties of the .22 LR cartridge, the American-180 submachine gun has proven itself to be a powerful, effective, and easily controlled weapon.

American-180 submachine gun caliber .22 LR

One of the police officers who were armed with the American-180 came up with the idea to shoot one disc at a standard multi-layer Kevlar body armor, which the .22 LR cartridge could not penetrate under any circumstances. However, a long burst from the American-180 gnawed a hole through the body armor: each bullet pierced one layer of high-strength fabric, and the next one instantly flew to almost the same place.

Based on this “experiment”, it is not difficult to guess what a burst of more powerful cartridges, with bullets, with a carbide core, will do to the body armor. It is necessary to understand that for any body armor a certain number of hits is stated that it can withstand. This property applies only to NIB, but also to armored glass, tank armor and any other. After each hit, the structure of the armor protection material is damaged, and it is easier for the next ammunition to overcome it.

And finally, one cannot help but recall the unique domestic pistol Ots-23 “Dart”. The OTs-23 “Dart” pistol was developed in the early 1990s by a team of designers from TsKIB SOO under the leadership of designer I. Ya. Stechkin, known for the charismatic APS pistol (Stechkin Automatic Pistol). Features of the OTs-23 “Dart” are the use of a small-caliber 5.45x18 mm MPTs cartridge, as well as the ability to fire single shots and short bursts of three shots, at a rate of 1,700 rounds per minute. Due to the unsatisfactory characteristics of the 5.45x18 mm MPTs cartridge, the OTs-23 “Dart” pistol has not become widespread, but the concept itself is of considerable interest.

Pistol OTs-23 "Dart" caliber 5.45x18 mm MPTs

The low stopping effect of the 5.45x18 mm MPTs cartridge was supposed to be compensated for by a fixed burst of three shots. In practice it turned out that this was not enough. Why? Most likely, the 5.45x18 mm MPTs cartridge, in principle, has too little initial energy to reliably hit the target, i.e. the obstacle that has arisen - bones, elements of clothing, reduce the probability of hitting for each bullet so much that even their total impact does not provide a sufficient probability of hitting the target. Or it is possible that this weapon seemed too unusual to the security forces in comparison with pistols of accepted calibers.

It would be interesting to release an American-180 type submachine gun chambered for 5.45x18 mm MPC and look at the results of this “crossing”.

Stages of creating a promising weapon-cartridge complex

The creation of new types of weapons, especially with a high coefficient of technical novelty, requires the involvement of significant human and financial resources. To reduce the cost of creating a promising army pistol with maximum parameters (weapon-cartridge complex), it is advisable to break its development into stages:

1. Development and creation of a 5.45x30 mm cartridge based on the 5.45x18 mm MPTs cartridge (or a new cartridge, but made on the basis of proven technologies) and a pistol based on the OTs-23 “Dart” (or a new pistol, but made on the basis of proven technologies) design solutions). Validation of concept. Small-scale production. verification of military and special applications. Exploring commercial potential.

2. In case of successful implementation of point 1 - development and creation of a promising cartridge based on the latest achievements of technology and materials science, using promising design solutions, and the creation of appropriate weapons for this cartridge. Small-scale production. If successful, verification of military and special use, adoption by special units, limited purchases. Limited commercial release.

3. In case of successful implementation of point 2 - search for ways to optimize technological processes and materials used, without a significant reduction in performance characteristics (TTX). Large-scale production. Adoption by security forces. Commercial implementation.

4. In case of successful implementation of point 1 and confirmation of the effectiveness of a promising pistol within the framework of existing technological and design solutions, but unsuccessful implementation of point 2, large-scale production is carried out, adoption by law enforcement agencies, and commercial sale of the product created according to point 1.

Promising ammunition for an army pistol

Based on the conclusions formulated in the article “Army pistol and the stopping effect of pistol cartridges ,” the ammunition of a promising army pistol must meet the following requirements.

1. The initial energy of the bullet must provide the depth of penetration necessary to guarantee damage to internal organs, taking into account penetration of bones, muscles, fatty tissue, etc.2. The shape, composition and initial energy of the bullet must ensure penetration of existing and future NIBs at a pistol shot range (up to 50 meters).3. The cartridge configuration should be based on minimizing the transverse size of the cartridge (case diameter) to maximize the amount of ammunition in the magazine.4. The recoil when using such a cartridge should be acceptable for rapid shooting with high accuracy. Based on the above requirements, this could be a cartridge with a bullet with a diameter of 5-7 mm, made of a hard alloy, possibly based on tungsten carbide, with a sleeve approximately 30 mm long, most likely bottle-shaped, with a diameter of 6-8 mm. The initial bullet energy should be in the range of 400-600 J.

What determines these parameters? The diameter of the bullet was chosen based on the need to penetrate NIB, since the heat-strengthened cores of domestic pistol cartridges with increased armor penetration have approximately the same diameter. Increasing the length of the case is necessary to accommodate a sufficient powder charge, taking into account the reduction in the diameter of the case. And reducing the diameter of the cartridge case is necessary to increase the ammunition capacity in the pistol magazine. The initial energy of the bullet was selected based on those parameters that are used in existing domestic pistol ammunition with increased armor penetration, while the shape and composition of the bullet, as well as the absence of a deformable shell, should increase the armor-piercing properties of the promising ammunition, with comparable initial energy.

The most interesting thing is that ammunition that largely falls under the above description has already been created - these are cartridges used in weapons created according to the concept of a personal defense weapon (PDW). The first “swallows” of the PDW direction can be considered the Belgian 5.7x28 cartridge from Fabrique Nationale (FN) and the German 4.6x30 cartridge from Heckler&Koch (HK).

5.7x28 mm cartridge, 4.6x30 mm cartridge, and characteristics of their armor penetration when fired from HK MP7 and FN P90 submachine guns

Later, other similar ammunition appeared, made according to the PDW concept, which is currently less common.

Serial cartridges – 5.56×45 NATO (1), .30 Carbine (2), 9×18 Makarov (3), 7.65x17SR (.32 Auto) (4), 9×19 NATO (5), 5.7×28 FN ( 6), 4.6×30 HK (7), 5.8×21 Chinese (8), 9×19 Russian AP (9), 9×21 Russian AP (10), .40 S&W (11), .45 Auto (12)

Serial and experimental cartridges – 5.56mm NATO (1), .22 APG (2), .221 Fireball (IMP) (3), 5.56mm Colt MARS (4), 6×35 KAC PDW (5), .17 Libra ( 6), .22 SCAMP (7), .224 Boz (8), .225 JAWS MicroMag (9), .250 JAWS MicroMag (10), .224 VA (11), .22 TCM (12), .223 Timbs (13), 6.5×25 CBJ (14), 15 = 9×19 (15)

In the USSR, several decades before the advent of 5.7x28 mm and 4.6x30 mm cartridges, their own “PDW” cartridge was created - 5.45x18 mm MPTs, which even today has good armor-piercing properties. However, the low energy of the 5.45x18 mm MPTs cartridge does not allow it to effectively hit even unprotected targets. However, theoretically it can be considered as the basis for the development of a conventional 5.45x30 mm cartridge intended for use in a military pistol implemented according to the PDW concept.

Comparative characteristics of 5.7x28 mm, 4.6x30 mm and 9x19 mm 7N31, 7N29, 5.45x18 mm MPTs cartridges and expected characteristics of a conventional 5.45x30 mm cartridge for an army pistol implemented according to the PDW concept*

* It should be noted that the characteristics of ammunition available on the Internet do not always correlate with each other, for example, based on the mass and speed of bullets of 7N31 and 7N29 cartridges, their initial energy should be 756 J and 563 J, respectively, which does not coincide with the values ​​​​indicated in the table.

Of course, the development of a promising cartridge based on the 5.45x18 mm MPC cartridge is advisable only if its expected characteristics can be achieved in the chosen configuration, and the cost of its development and production does not exceed the cost of creating a new ammunition.

In addition, taking into account the progress in the creation of new materials, it may be more efficient to develop a promising cartridge for a military pistol, implemented according to the PDW concept, completely from scratch. A promising cartridge can be implemented on the basis of a polymer, composite sleeve, or cermet sleeve. Ceramic materials, composite ceramic materials, or tungsten-based alloys may be considered as the bullet material.

In the nose of the bullet, the use of a flat polymer tip may be considered to improve the bullet's properties by creating a temporary cavitation cavity. The presence of a flat area at the head of the bullet reduces the speed requirement required for the bullet to form a temporary cavitation cavity. Despite the fact that in the previous material we highlighted the conclusions that the presence of a temporary cavitation cavity does not bring a significant effect to the stopping effect, it does not make sense to abandon this effect if it is not difficult to implement. At the same time, in the event of overcoming the NIB or a solid barrier, the polymer tip will be destroyed without reducing the armor penetration characteristics of the bullet.

Another way to increase stopping and lethality would be to use fragmenting bullets in a promising cartridge.

Cartridge with fragmenting sabot bullet

A promising direction is the creation of telescopic ammunition, with a fully or partially recessed bullet, including a sub-caliber one.

Cartridges with polymer sleeve

Telescopic ammunition

Whatever technologies are used to create a promising cartridge, its dimensions should not exceed 40 mm in length and 8 mm in diameter. This will ensure the convenience of holding the weapon in your hand and increase the magazine capacity compared to cartridges of 9 mm caliber or more.