The FN P90 is a personal defense weapon chambered for the 5.7×28mm cartridge, also classified as a submachine gun, designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. Created in response to NATO requests for a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum firearms, the P90 was designed as a compact but powerful firearm for vehicle crews, operators of crew-served weapons, support personnel, special forces, and counter-terrorist groups.
Designed in conjunction with the FN 5.7×28mm NATO ammunition, development of the weapon began in 1986, and production commenced in 1990, when it was known as the Project 9.0 (from which the "90" in its name is derived), whereupon the 5.7×28mm ammunition was redesigned and shortened. A modified version of the P90 with a magazine adapted to use the new ammunition was introduced in 1993, and the Five-seven pistol was subsequently introduced as a companion weapon using the same 5.7×28mm ammunition.
Featuring a compact bullpup design with an integrated reflex sight and fully ambidextrous controls, the P90 is an unconventional weapon with a futuristic appearance. Its design incorporates several innovations, such as a unique top-mounted magazine and FN's small-caliber, high-velocity 5.7×28mm ammunition. Additional integrated features include interchangeable visible or infrared laser and tritium light sources.
The P90 is currently in service with military and police forces in over 40 nations, such as Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, India, Malaysia, Poland, and the United States.Tirans, Ivars (2009). "Baltic Defence Research and Technology 2009 Conference Proceedings". Military Review: Scientific Journal for Security and Defence (), Nr. 3/4 (132/133), p 103. In the United States, the P90 is in use with over 200 law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service. In the United States, the standard selective fire P90 is restricted to the military, law enforcement, or holders of certain Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs) with the Special Occupational Tax (SOT). Since 2005, a semi-automatic version with a longer barrel has been offered to civilian users as the PS90.
History Development The P90 and its 5.7×28mm ammunition were developed by the Belgian company FN Herstal in response to NATO requests for a replacement for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge and associated pistols and submachine guns.Gourley, S.; Kemp, I (November 26, 2003). "The Duellists". Jane's Defence Weekly (), Volume 40 Issue 21, pp 26–28. NATO called for two types of weapons chambered for a new cartridge—one a shoulder-fired weapon, and the other a handheld weapon. According to NATO, these new weapons, termed personal defense weapons (PDWs), were to provide "personal protection in last-resort situations when the user is directly endangered by the enemy [...]." In 1989, NATO published document D/296, outlining a number of preliminary specifications for these weapons: The new cartridge was to have greater range, accuracy, and terminal performance than the 9×19mm cartridge. Additionally, it was to be capable of penetrating body armor. The shoulder-fired personal defense weapon was to weigh less than , with a magazine capacity of at least 20 rounds. The handheld personal defense weapon (pistol) was to weigh less than , although a weight of was deemed desirable; it was to have a magazine capacity of at least 20 rounds. Both weapons were to be sufficiently compact to be carried hands-free on the user's person at all times, whether in the cab of a vehicle or the cockpit of an aircraft, and were to perform effectively in all environments and weather conditions.
FN Herstal was the first small arms manufacturer to respond to NATO's requirement; FN started by developing a shoulder-fired personal defense weapon, the P90, along with a small caliber, high velocity 5.7×28mm cartridge type. The original 5.7×28mm cartridge, called the SS90, went into production with the P90 in 1990. The SS90 propelled a 1.5 g (23 grain) plastic-core projectile from the P90 at a muzzle velocity of roughly .
Following the P90's introduction, FN revised the 5.7×28mm ammunition. The new variation, designated the SS190, used a projectile shorter in length than that of the SS90. This allowed it to be used more conveniently in the 5.7×28mm FN Five-seven pistol, which was under development at that time. The SS190 projectile had more weight and a more conventional construction with an aluminium and steel core. The first prototypes of the SS190 were created in 1992, and the design was finalized in 1993, replacing the SS90. A modified version of the P90, with a magazine adapted to use the shortened ammunition, was then introduced in the same year. Several special cartridge variations were developed, such as the L191 tracer round and the SB193 subsonic round for use with a sound-suppressed P90.
NATO evolution
In 2002 and 2003, NATO conducted a series of tests with the intention of standardizing a PDW cartridge as a replacement for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. The tests compared the relative merits of the FN 5.7×28mm cartridge and the HK 4.6×30mm cartridge, which was created by German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch as a competitor to the 5.7×28mm. The results of the NATO tests were analyzed by a group formed of experts from Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The group's conclusion was that the 5.7×28mm was statistically the more efficient cartridge; However, NATO countries could not reach the general consensus to standardized 5.7×28mm, which halted the standardization process indefinitely. As a result, both the 4.6×30mm and 5.7×28mm cartridges (and the associated weapons) have been independently adopted by various NATO countries, according to preference; the P90 is currently in service with some military and police force units in over 40 countries. The 5.7x28mm was eventually standardized by NATO in February 2021.
Present Further development of the P90 led to the creation of the P90 TR model, which has a MIL-STD-1913 (Picatinny) triple rail interface for mounting accessories. This model was introduced in late 1999 and continues to be offered alongside the standard P90. More recently, the P90 has been offered to civilian shooters as the PS90, a semi-automatic carbine intended for personal protection and sporting use.
Design
The P90 is a selective fire, straight blowback-operated weapon with a cyclic rate of fire of around 850–1,100 rounds per minute. The weapon is chambered for FN's 5.7×28mm ammunition. Its unusual shape is based on extensive ergonomic research. The weapon is grasped by means of a thumbhole in the frame that acts as a pistol grip, as well as an oversized trigger guard that acts as a foregrip for the shooter's support hand. The P90 fires from a closed bolt for maximum accuracy, and its design makes extensive use of polymers for reduced weight and cost. Overall, the weapon is relatively lightweight, weighing empty, or with a loaded 50-round magazine.
The P90 is notable for being fully ambidextrous—it can be operated by right or left-handed shooters with equal ease, and without making any modifications to the weapon. FN Herstal has described it as the "first fully ambidextrous individual automatic weapon." The charging handle, magazine release and backup iron sights are symmetrically distributed on both sides of the weapon, and the firing selector is located directly at the foot of the trigger, where it can be operated from either side by the shooter's trigger finger or support hand thumb. When fired, the P90 ejects spent cartridge casings downward through a chute located behind the grip, so spent cases are kept out of the shooter's line of sight.
The P90 can be fitted with a sling for greater ease of carry, and since the weapon has a fixed stock (as opposed to having a collapsing or folding stock), it can be quickly deployed when needed. The weapon's smooth, rounded contours prevent it from snagging on the shooter's clothing or equipment, and a small handstop at the weapon's front prevents the shooter's support hand from slipping in front of the muzzle while firing. A hollow compartment inside the rear of the weapon's frame—accessed by removing the buttplate—allows for storage of a cleaning kit.
The P90 was designed to have a length no greater than a man's shoulder width, to allow it to be easily carried and maneuvered in tight spaces, such as the inside of an armored vehicle. To achieve this, the weapon's design uses the unconventional bullpup configuration, in which the action and magazine are located behind the trigger and alongside the shooter's face so that there is no wasted space in the stock. The P90's dimensions are minimized by its unique horizontally mounted feeding system, wherein the box magazine sits parallel to the barrel on top of the weapon's frame. The weapon overall has an extremely compact profile—it is the most compact fixed-stock submachine gun to be made. The standard version of the weapon has an overall length of , a height of , and a width of .
The P90 requires minimal maintenance, and it can be disassembled quickly and easily. It is a modular firearm, consisting of four main component groups: the barrel and optical sight group, the moving parts group, the frame and trigger group, and the hammer group. The P90's barrel is cold hammer-forged and chrome-lined, with an overall length of . The barrel has eight rifling grooves with a right-hand twist rate of 1:231 mm (1:9.1 in), and it is equipped with a diagonally cut flash suppressor that also acts as a recoil compensator. The stated service life of the barrel is 20,000 rounds.
The P90 uses an internal hammer striking mechanism and a trigger mechanism with a three-position rotary dial fire control selector, located at the foot of the trigger. The dial has three settings: S – safe, 1 – semi-automatic fire, and A – fully automatic fire. When set on A, the P90's fire selector provides a two-stage trigger operation similar to that of the Steyr AUG assault rifle—pulling the trigger back slightly produces semi-automatic fire, and pulling the trigger fully to the rear produces fully automatic fire.
Ammunition
Particularly significant to the design of the P90 is the small-caliber, high-velocity bottlenecked cartridge it uses. The 5.7×28mm cartridge was created by FN Herstal in response to a NATO requirement that called for a replacement for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge, which is commonly used in pistols and submachine guns. The 5.7×28mm cartridge weighs 6.0 g (93 grains)—roughly half as much as a typical 9×19mm cartridge—allowing the same number of rounds to be carried for less weight, or allowing more rounds to be carried for the same weight. Since the 5.7×28mm cartridge has a relatively small diameter, an unusually high number of cartridges can be contained in a magazine. The cartridge has a loud report and produces considerable muzzle flash (when fired from a pistol), but it produces roughly 30 percent less recoil than the 9×19mm cartridge, improving controllability. Due to its high velocity, the 5.7×28mm exhibits an exceptionally flat trajectory compared to typical pistol ammunition.
Fired from the P90, the 5.7×28mm SS190 has a muzzle velocity of roughly . FN states an effective range of and a maximum range of for the 5.7×28mm cartridge when fired from the P90.
In testing conducted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 1999, the SS190 fired from the P90 at a distance of exhibited an average penetration depth of in ballistic gelatin covered with a Level II vest.Cutshaw, Charlie (May 2006). "FN Herstal's Five-seveN Pistol". Tactical Response. The SS190 exhibited penetration depths ranging from when fired from the P90 into bare ballistic gelatin, in tests conducted by Houston Police Department SWAT.