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| FN P90 PDW (60k) |
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| P90 Stats |
This unique weapon was developed by FN Herstal (originally, and perhaps better, known as Fabrique National of Liege) as a result of a very careful analysis of weapons usage in modern armies. This showed that only the assault infantry - which is perhaps about one-eighth of an army - actually needs a powerful (and expensive) assault rifle. The other seven-eighths are troops who serve other weapons - artillery, rockets or tanks, for example - or are service, communication or supply troops; none of these expect to use a rifle as their primary job, but they need a weapon for self-defense should the gun position be attacked or the ration column ambushed.
Pistols and submachine guns are traditionally the weapon for these troops, but both these require training and constant practice to get the best out of them. A low-recoil weapon with a reasonable self-defense range and sufficient power to defeat body armor was required, one which was simple and instinctive in its use.
The P-90 broke new ground in weapon design. The shape is unusual, with a forward grip which can be held with both hands when the weapon is fired from the shoulder, or simply by one hand with the butt tucked into the hip. It is a blowback, firing a specially-designed cartridge which is more like a small rifle cartridge than the usual type of submachine gun round.
The magazine lies on top of the receiver, with the cartridges lying across the axis of the weapon and feeding through a turntable which turns them through 90 degrees and guides them into the feedway in front of the bolt. Ejection is downwards, through the hollow pistol grip.
A collimating optical sight is fitted, which can be used with both eyes open and projects an image of a circle and central dot on to the view of the target. There are also two sets of iron sights, so that both right- and left-handed firers find it easy to aim.
The bullet has a synthetic core and metal jacket; it is capable of piercing 30 layers of Kevlar fabric (as used in bullet-proof vests) at 100 meters range and a standard steel helmet at 150 meters. In spite of this, the recoil energy is about two-thirds of the 9mm Parabellum round and the weapon is quite easily controlled during automatic fire. The P-90 has been adopted by a number of military forces since its introduction in 1992.
-First published in Ian Hogg's Modern Small Arms(tm).
In Tomorrow Never Dies you can get a quick glimpse of this gun. When Bond and his Chinese collegue has eliminated all assassins at here place in Hong Kong, she opens this incredible communication and weapons central. On a high shelf behind Bond, just before he triggers a flamethrower, you can see a couple of P90s.
In the new Hamilton movie is the P90 also displayed. When they are out and attacking the smugglers in Russia are they armed with P90s. Rather strange that they use that gun when it's just a close DEFENCE gun, but you know how movies are.
These figures are only estimations cause I've not found any authentic.
Copyright © 1998 Kristoffer Johansson
