| FN P90 | |
|---|---|
 A FN P90 | |
|
Type |
Personal Defense Weapon (PDW) |
|
Place of origin |
Belgium |
|
Designed |
1986–1990 |
|
In service |
1991–present |
|
Cartridge |
5.7x28mm |
|
Feed System |
50 round detachable box magazine |
The FN P90 ("Project 90") is a series of Belgian-designed automatic weapons. Described by some as submachine guns and others as carbines, they debuted in the 1980s. In an unusual move, the weapon's manufacturer, FN Herstal, created an entirely new round for the weapon, the 5.7x28mm. The round is designed to defeat soft armor and ballistic helmets up to 100 meters away. It is fed from a horizontal, translucent 50-round magazine. The base of the magazine is toward the barrel. The cartridges sit at a right angle to the firing chamber are fed into a spiral feed ramp, where they are rotated 90 degrees. This unique feeding design allow a cyclic firing rate of 900 rounds per minute and also makes the weapon very compact. The spent casings are ejected through the bottom of the weapon, allowing ambidextrous use. The intent of the small form factor was to accommodate personnel not normally expected to take part in combat, e.g.: vehicle and artillery crews, and other support personnel. A pistol, the Five-seveN, was also created for the round; the round is considered more effective when fired from the P90. The pistol does not appear in the games.
The P90 belongs to a unique class of firearm called the Personal Defense Weapon (PDW), a class of weapons whose design incorporates aspects of both submachine guns and carbines. Another PDW is the Heckler & Koch MP7.