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P90
Cypriot National Guard with a P90 at a parade in Larnaca
Type	Submachine gun
Place of origin	Belgium
Service history
In service	1994—
Used by	See User base
Production history
Manufacturer	Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Mass	2.54 kg (5.5 lb), empty 3.0 kg (6.6 lb), loaded
Length	500 mm (19.7 in)
Barrel length	263 mm (10.35 in)
Cartridge	5.7 × 28 mm
Action	Straight blowback, closed bolt
Rate of fire	900 round/min
Muzzle velocity	716 m/s (2,350 ft/s) with SS190
Effective firing range	200 m (220 yd)
Feed system	50-round detachable box magazine
Sights	Tritium-illuminated reflex sight

The P90 is a compact submachine gun developed and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN Herstal). It has an unusual bullpup configuration resulting in a short external barrel and a 50-round magazine that sits on top of the weapon, parallel to the barrel.

Overview

On April 16, 1989, NATO document D/296 called for a "personal defense weapon" to enter service after 2000. Existing pistol-caliber cartridges had become increasingly ineffective at disabling troops equipped with body armor, while assault rifles that could pierce it were too heavy or unwieldy for close quarters battle. FN Herstal responded by designing the Project 90 submachine gun and its 5.7 × 28 mm armor-piercing cartridge.

The P90 entered service in 1994. It is a selective fire, straight blowback-operated firearm with semi-automatic and fully automatic firing modes. It is fully ambidextrous, with an ambidextrous fire selector and charging handle, and downward ejection of spent cases. The P90 is built in a unique bullpup configuration that places the 50-round translucent magazine above the firearm, parallel to the barrel (with the rounds perpendicular to the barrel). A circular ramp at the bottom of the magazine aligns each round to the barrel. This design makes the firearm compact and maneuverable; the translucent magazine makes it easy to quickly check the number of rounds left. The P90 is constructed largely out of weight-saving polymers, including the hammer and related components, which resemble the ones found in the Steyr AUG. The breechblock is part of the "moving parts group," which contains twin guide rods, rate of fire stabilizer, recoil buffer, firing pin, and AR-15-style extractor and ejector.

The firearm has very low recoil, allowing for accurate burst fire. The recoil impulse of 5.7 × 28 mm is about half that of 5.56 × 45 mm NATO, while the unique moving parts group further reduces felt recoil through twin recoil springs and the recoil buffer. Upon firing, the barrel itself recoils rearward for about 0.030 of an inch (0.76 mm), enabling the pressure in the barrel to drop to a safe level. The chamber pressure is rated at 50,000 psi for 5.7 × 28 mm FN. Field-stripping the P90 can be done in under 10 seconds without any tools, breaking it apart into four major groups: barrel support/optical sight group, moving parts group, hammer group, and the frame/trigger group. The gun's two-stage trigger allows for semi-automatic fire even when the selector is set on fully automatic mode.

FN Herstal manufactures a magazine pouch with a plastic dust cap that covers the magazine's opening, in order to keep cartridges from becoming dislodged when the magazine is struck at the feed end. Contrary to popular belief, the magazines are not prone to internal cartridge jams.

The SS190 5.7 × 28 mm round has higher penetration abilities than cartridges with similar recoil impulse, and can defeat the standard Warsaw Pact body armor (a layer of titanium and several layers of kevlar) at the ranges listed by the NATO requirement. This is inferior to most rifle rounds, but better than existing common pistol rounds, such as the .45 ACP or .40 S&W. This performance is similar to the 4.6 × 30 mm round used in the Heckler & Koch MP7 PDW. However, both cartridges have suffered much controversy, as some are skeptical of their stopping power against unarmored targets. As there have been few combat firings of the P90, its true effect is yet undetermined, and many special forces such as the SAS and the U.S. Navy SEALs still prefer using traditional firearm systems.

Users

The P90 is offered for export to military and law enforcement agencies — its sale is denied to the civilians in many countries due to its automatic firing mode and short barrel. Organizations that have adopted the firearm include:

• Argentine Argentine Navy and Buzos Tácticos
• Belgian Directorate of Special Units and Special Forces Group
• Canadian Joint Task Force 2
• Chilean Army, Infanteria Marina (Marine Corps) and special forces.
• Cypriot National Guard
• Finland Utti Jaeger Regiment
• French GIGN and RAID
• Greek Coast Guard
• Indonesian Kopassus
• Irish Army Ranger Wing
• Malaysian Paskal
• Mexican Navy and the Fuerzas Especiales unit
• GISGR : Groupement d'Intervention et de Sécurité de la Gendarmerie Royale
• Netherlands The Bijzondere Bijstands Eenheid and Korps Commando Troepen CT-units
• Pakistan Army Special Services Group
• Panama Institutional Protective Service
• Peruvian Navy special forces
• Philippine Special Action Force; certain army units
• Portuguese Special Operations Group units
• Special units of the Royal Thai Army
• Saudi Arabian special forces
• Singaporean Commandos
• United States Secret Service

Certain civilian law enforcement teams have also adopted the P90. The first U.S. team to do so was the Richland County, South Carolina Sheriff's Department. It is also used by SWAT teams in Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, and Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia. In Missouri, the Columbia and Hallsville police departments are among those whose special-duty units have them, while the Creve Coeur Police Department uses the P90 as their patrol duty rifle, and all tactical, patrol and traffic units have a P90 in their cruisers. The P90 was seen in New Orleans in the weeks following Hurricane Katrina, fomenting interest in the weapon.

Variants

The firearm comes in several variants. All of them can mount certain optional accessories such as tactical slings, empty case collector bags, bayonets, visible and infrared laser aiming modules (LAM), and tactical flashlights. The military and Short Barreled Rifle (SBR) versions can also accept a Gemtech sound suppressor (model SP-90) that uses a spring-lock system to snap onto the weapon's flash suppressor. The PS90 variant cannot mount this sound suppressor, because its barrel's flash suppressor is incompatible with the spring clip system.

P90

Features a plastic day and night 1x magnification Ring Sights MC-10-80 reflex sight mounted on a cast aluminum base that can fit an optional Picatinny rail. The day sight shows a large white circle with a smaller circle in the center using ambient light through a translucent fiber optic collector at the front. The night sight is an open "T" reticule that utilizes a tritium module in the rear that shines through a small fiber optic collector. The day sight will tend to wash out on bright surfaces such as white walls, snow, and the sky. The night sight requires total darkness and several moments for the shooter's eyes to adjust to the darkness if transitioning from a bright environment. Essentially, the operator will lose all sight function by transitioning from outdoors into a dark house. Even with a tactical light, the MC-10-80 performs poorly in unlit/dark rooms unless the light is somehow reflected either into the front collector or into the rear collector. If used in a dark environment, aiming at a bright object will cause the tritium lit reticule to wash out. Backup iron sights are designed into both sides of the metal receiver. The P90, P90 USG, and PS90 can be fitted with a MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail to replace the MC-10-80 in case the operator wishes to use aftermarket optics.

P90 TR

The standard sight receiver houses a triple Picatinny Rail Interface System (RIS), or Triple Rail (TR) for short. There is one full-length rail on the top of the base and two rail "stumps" on the sides. The "stumps" serve as mounting points for accessories such as laser sights or tactical flashlights; the integrated top rail allows for the mounting of aftermarket optics right out of the box. The TR and standard P90 are not interchangeable since the entire receiver assembly is different.

P90 USG

A fully automatic P90 similar to the standard P90, except with a revised optic system developed based on input by the United States Secret Service and other government agencies. Essentially, the aluminum USG Black sight uses a 100% black reticule that does not require ambient light. The USG Black reticule does not suffer from the same problems as the regular MC-10-80, since the reticule does not "wash out" on bright surfaces. The USG black reticule sight is available for all P90 and PS90 weapons that use a MC-10-80 reflex sight.

P90 LV and P90 IR

These versions add an integrated laser sight projected from below the barrel. The LV (Laser Visible) variant is equipped with a visible laser, while the IR (infrared) variant has an infrared laser. The lasers have three internal settings: "off", to prevent accidental activation, "low-intensity", for combat training and extended battery life, and "high-intensity", for maximum visibility. The laser on/off switch is a green button located under the trigger grip. The battery compartment is located below this button.

PS90

A semi-automatic "sporter" version designed for the civilian market. It has a 16.04-inch (407 mm) barrel, an olive drab green plastic body (there is a limited production run of black PS90s), and a MC-10-80 reflex sight identical to that on the standard P90. The MC-10-80 must be removed and replaced by a special top rail in order to use aftermarket optics.

The barrel rifling has 8 grooves, a 1:9 right-hand twist, with a rifled length of 14.8 inches (376 mm), and a full barrel length of 16.04 inches (407 mm) due to the addition of a fixed "birdcage" flash suppressor. The overall length of the PS90 is 26.23 inches (667 mm). The trigger pull is approximately 7.5 to 8 lb_f (33 to 36 N).

The receiver assembly is drilled and tapped to accept accessory Picatinny rails on either side. The front swivel sling mount is not included, and installation requires the barrel shroud to be unpinned and removed. It accepts the standard P90 50-round magazines, but ships with a 10- or 30-round magazine depending on local and state regulations. The PS90 weighs 6.4 lb (2.9 kg) empty, and 7.5 lb (3.4 kg) with a fully loaded 50-round magazine.

Ring Sights MC-10-80 reflex sight

The MC-10-80 reflex sight, developed by Ring Sights, was designed for the FN P90 and is not compatible with other weapons. It uses a forward-aimed fiber optic collector to illuminate the daytime reticule, which consists of a large circle of about 180 MOA, with a 20-MOA circle surrounding a dot in the center. The night reticule consists of a half-T that is primarily illuminated by a tritium module, which glows red/orange in the dark, and moonlight or ambient light drawn in by an upward-facing collector. The half-T reticule can be seen in the daytime when a strong light source is shined into the rear fiber optic collector.

Notes

1. Military Small Arms of the 20th Century, Hogg, Ian, Weeks, John, pages 101-102
2. Military Small Arms of the 20th Century, Hogg, Ian, Weeks, John, pages 101-102
3. P90 SUBMACHINE GUN — FNH USA TACTICAL SYSTEMS
4. NATO Action Committee AC225
5. Richland County Sheriff's Department
6. Richland County Sheriff's Department — Special Response Team

External links

• FNH USA product description
• PS90 Discussion Forum
• Remtek.com: FN P90 examined in detail
• Modern Firearms: FN P90
• FN FiveseveN Discussion Forum
• Steve's (Latest) Firearms Interest: The FN 5.7 × 28 mm Weapon System
• Spring 2003 Experiences with the FN P90 (Houston, TX PD)
• Nazarian`s Gun`s Recognition Guide: FN P90 presentation video (MPEG)

• Submachine guns
• Fabrique Nationale de Herstal