Personal Defense Weapon

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Personal Defense Weapons (German: personal defense weapons ) or PDWs are compact handguns that are intended to fill the gap between assault rifles and pistols or submachine guns .

They are intended for vehicle crews, operating crews and rear troops who are not usually involved in infantry fighting, but for whom there is always the risk of ambushes , especially in the course of asymmetrical conflicts . Since such battles usually take place at close range, these troop units require a higher penetration power than pistol ammunition due to the widespread use of protective vests , but not the greater range of an assault rifle.

history

The concept

Such soldiers used to be armed with pistols, but it quickly became apparent that this was not the optimal solution because the effectiveness of pistols was too limited. During World War I , the Germans used Mauser C96 pistols with buttstock, and during World War II, the United States equipped their rear troops with the M1 Carbine . Submachine guns with pistol ammunition were traditionally used by front-line troops, but this ammunition was ineffective against the bullet-resistant vests that became increasingly widespread after the Cold War .

In 1986 the United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning published a document called the Smalls Arms System 2000. That paper defined an OPDW (Objective Personal Defense Weapon) as part of an Objective weapon family . This weapon should be capable of continuous fire and penetrate protective vests. Since the price and complexity of an OICW do not make it possible to equip every soldier with it, the OPDW should be intended for all other soldiers who do not fight on the front. In addition, it should be compact and light in order to obstruct the wearer as little as possible. A weapon was required that:

  1. weighs less than 1.5 kg
  2. can be carried concealed
  3. has a low magnetic signature
  4. can penetrate the CRISAT protection at a distance of 50 m
  5. a maximum of the non-return a cartridge from caliber 9 × 19 mm has

1997 was added:

  1. up to 200 m effective combat distance
  2. Possibility of single or continuous fire
  3. Replacement for pistols and submachine guns
  4. Use against soft and hard targets
  5. most modern technology

NATO evaluation

For the tender, Heckler & Koch developed the HK MP7 with a 4.6 × 30 mm caliber and FN Herstal developed the FN P90 with a 5.7 × 28 mm caliber . The 4.6 mm and 5.7 mm caliber cartridges weigh about 6 grams. Compared to the 9 mm Parabellum ammunition, which weighs around 12 g per cartridge, it should be possible to double the shooter's stock of ammunition. This continued the trend that was already observed with the change from 7.62 × 51 mm NATO to 5.56 × 45 mm NATO : Each newly introduced type of ammunition is only about half as heavy as the previous model, in this case from about 24 to 12 grams.

In 2002 the Etablissement Technique de Bourges (ETBS) held a comparative shooting between the 4.6 × 30 and the 5.7 × 28 mm ammunition to raise the winner to the NATO standard. The test series lasted over six months and was spread over 22 test sites in France. An evaluation by the Quick Reaction Team (QRT) of the NATO Army Armaments Group (NAAG) followed in 2003. The test results were evaluated by experts from France, Belgium, Switzerland, USA, Germany, UK, Italy and the Netherlands. Six criteria were taken into account: hit effectiveness, hit probability when shooting from test tubes, hit probability from shooters, reliability, interior ballistics and penetration performance . It was found:

  • Higher man-stopping effect of the 5.7 mm caliber (SS190) compared to unarmored targets (+ 27%) at 100 m, the effect was also higher (+ 11%) on targets armored with CRISAT.
  • Both systems clearly exceeded the required penetration performance against CRISAT (> 200 m).
  • Better inner ballistics of the 5.7 × 28 mm because it is more independent of external influences (temperature, etc.). The 4.6 × 30 mm bullet was said to have a higher barrel wear, but this was not confirmed in the tests. The stress on the components is greater due to the higher gas pressure (400 MPa versus 345 MPa).
  • The 5.7 × 28 mm cartridge is similar to the 5.56 mm NATO ammunition, so it can be produced on the same production line .
  • With the Five-seveN, a pistol was available for 5.7 mm ammunition , while only one concept existed for 4.6 mm ( HK UCP ).

The 5.7 × 28 mm caliber was declared the winner of the tender. However, decisions within NATO must be made by consensus. Countries such as Germany vetoed the election. The 4.6mm ammunition has since been improved. While the tests were still fired with the 1.7 gram Combat Steel ammunition, the Bundeswehr introduced the DM11, a heavier projectile variant (2 g) with higher muzzle energy (506 joules versus 447 joules, +13%). Since 2008, NATO has also been revising the CRISAT standard, which is to be replaced by two new target types - soft body armor and those with hard ballistic inserts.

The procurement of a weapon or type of ammunition is therefore left to each country itself, as no standard could be found. The concept of a personal defense weapon is now well established. However, the United States has not yet decided on a model, which is why other NATO countries are hesitant not to opt for a caliber that may not be used in the future.

Arms in production

So far there have been two realizations of this concept, both of which are able to penetrate standard military protective vests to over 200 meters:

  • The FN P90 from the Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal in caliber 5.7 × 28 mm. The weapon weighs approx. 3.1 kg loaded with 50 rounds in a transparent magazine lying on the weapon, the cases are ejected downwards through a shaft. The weapon is a recoil loader with a ground lock . The barrel length is 250 mm, the rate of fire is approximately 900 rounds per minute. The weapon is equipped with a simply magnifying red dot sight; laser aiming aids can be accommodated in the front handle.
  • The HK MP7 from the German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch in 4.6 × 30 mm. The weapon weighs approx. 2 kg loaded with 20 rounds in a magazine inserted in the handle, a 40-round magazine can optionally be used, which protrudes far from the handle and makes the weapon more bulky. The MP7 is a gas pressure charger with a rotating head lock. The cases are ejected to the right. The barrel length is 180 mm, the rate of fire is around 950 rounds per minute.

  • FN P90

  • HK MP7

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Globalsecurity: Small Arms and Light Weapons
  2. ^ I. Personal Defense Weapon: Only for Defense? ( Memento of April 22, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 35 kB)
  3. ↑ RUAG Ammotec: Cartridge family 4.6 × 30 mm , pages 13/22  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.pfa.nrw.de
  4. ↑ a b Global Defense Reviev: In the line of fire ( Memento of October 16, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Anthony G Williams: Where Next For PDWs? ( Memento from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive )