The replacement for the famous submachine gun HK MP5 has finally arrived! The MP7 is made by Heckler and Koch, the famous German armament company. It is mainly being used for anti-terror operations. In the UK, Ministry of Defense Police are the first force to have them, and the Metropolitan Police are very interested, as well as other forces. So far after their testing, the gun has been very successful and is much liked by the MoD Police. As armed police, their guns have to be limited to single shot firing. The mags hold 20 rounds and the ammunitions will penetrate both kevlar and other sorts of body armor. 40 round box mags can also be used. The gun can be shot single handedly or with both hands on the gun, the grip can also be folded back as well as the stock pushed in. Another advantage of this gun is that there is hardly any recoil. At 900 RPM, it is an incredibly versatile and powerful gun.

MP5K and MP7

The gun is classed as a Personal Defense Weapon and at the moment is being used by the following forces:

German Army, Norwegian Army, UK MOD Police, Irish Garda Siochana, Malaysian Police Special Force and South Korean Police.

It weighs:

• 1.8 kg (3.96 lb) empty
• 1.9 kg (4.2 lb) with 20 rounds
• 2.0 kg (4.4 lb) with 40 rounds

Length:

• 340 mm (13.4 in), stock retracted
• 541 mm (21.2 in), stock extended

Barrel Length: 180 mm (7.1 in)

Cartridge action: 4.6×30 mm

Action: Gas-operated, rotating bolt

Effective range: 200 m.

The HK MP7 Personal Defense Weapon (PDW) is a member of a relatively new class of small arms, called Personal Defense Weapons (PDW; such specialized weapons are build since the start of WW2). The PDW are intended, as name implies, to be a defensive sidearm for second-line troops, vehicle crews and other military personnel who normally not issued with assault rifles. Previously, these troops were issued with pistols or submachine guns, but proliferation of body armor in recent years made those guns ineffective. The first firearm, intended as “the new age PDW” and offered in that class was Belgian-made FN P90, and it had special low-impulse, high-velocity ammunition, capable of penetration of current military body armor and helmets at ranges of 100 meters and beyond, while being much smaller and lighter, than assault rifle. The HK MP7, originally known simply as HK PDW, is another entry in the PDW class, and thus is a direct rival to FN P90.

The HK MP7, first announced in 2000, entered production in 2001 and, by early 2007, is officially adopted by German military, as well as some German special police units, such as KSK, and also offered for export sales. The British Military Police issues HK MP7A1 to its personnel since 2005, and it is believed that some South Korean special forces also use MP7A1.

The HK MP7 submachine gun / personal defense weapon has layout of a typical compact submachine gun (or a large pistol), with magazine being inserted into pistol grip, with folding forward grip and telescoped buttstock. The action of the MP7A1 is somewhat unusual for weapon of such small size, since it is gas operated, rotating bolt design, which strongly resembles the action of the HK G36 assault rifle, suitably scaled down. The ambidextrous fire mode selector/safety switch allows for semi-auto and full-auto modes. MP7A1 it designed to fire special, high velocity ammunition, 4.6×30mm, that looks like scaled down rifle round. That ammunition is unique to the MP7 and another HK weapon, the HK UCP / P46 pistol.

The receiver of MP7A1, along with integral pistol grip, is made from the polymer with steel reinforcements. Top side of the receiver hosts a Picatinny-type accessory rail for sight mountings. Standard sighting equipment is usually a set of low-profile open sights on quick-detachable mounts, plus a collimating (red-dot) sight Additional rails can be installed on either side of receiver, next to its front end. The MP7A1 could be fired single-handedly, or using both hands, either like the pistol or using a front grip. Telescopic buttstock can be extended to give additional stability. With buttstock and front grip are collapsed, the MP7 can be carried like any big pistol in the special holster, and can be effectively used in close combat.

The 4.6×30mm ammunition is loaded with pointed all-steel bullets with brass jacket. Bullet weight is 1.6 gram (25 grains) and the muzzle velocity is 725 m/s (ca. 2400 fps). Manufacturer claims the 100% penetration of the CRISAT body armor (1.6mm of Titanium plus 20 layers of Kevlar) at the distance of 200 meters. Other types of ammunition, including tracer, frangible, spoon-tip (rapid-tumbling for use against unarmored human targets), blank and trill (inert) also available for MP7A1; ammunition is currently manufactured in UK by BAE Systems / Radway Green plant.

HK MP7 in Action

Future Weapon

Manufacturer

Heckler & Koch

[Via Modern Firearms & Seb's Blog]

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Heckler & Koch MP-5 – the Movie Star
Legendary Uzi

The Heckler und Koch submachine gun, MP-5, is one of the most famous and wide-spread firearms of its class, developed since the World War II. Its development began circa 1964 under the company designation HK MP-54.

In the 1966, German police and Border Guard adopted the HK 54 as the MP-5, and it was originally available in two forms — MP-5 with fixed buttstock and MP-5A1 with retractable buttstock. Some years later HK slightly upgraded the design of MP-5, replacing the sights and the muzzle. Other improvements made over the time concerned the magazines. The trigger units also were upgraded — from original stamped steel with plastic grip to the all-plastic units, integral with grip, and with various fire modes and marking. Over the years MP-5 were adopted by the huge numbers of police, security and military forces around the world, including the German police and border guard, British police and elite Army SAS units, American police, FBI, Navy and Marine Corps, and many, many others. MP-5 is still manufactured in Germany by the HK itself, and also licensed to Greece, Iran, Pakistan and Mexico.

The only real rival to the MP-5 in the terms of proliferation across the world is the famous Israeli Uzi submachine gun. Most interestingly, the German Army (Bundeswehr) did not adopted the MP-5, most probably due to the economical reasons, and turned instead to the… Uzi submachine guns, made under license in Belgium.

The success of the MP-5 is outstanding. It is based on the high quality and reliability of the gun, great single-shot accuracy (thanks to its closed bolt action), great flexibility and, of cause, good marketing. It seems that no other modern SMG at this time can rival the MP-5 in popularity (Uzi is not manufactured anymore).

H&K MP-5 as movie star here.

Description and Specifications

The MP-5, basically, is no more than the scaled-down version of the Heckler-Koch G3 assault rifle. It shares the same basic design with stamped steel receiver and the same roller-delayed blowback action, derived from the post-war CETME rifles. The trigger units are hinged to the receiver and are now available with various fire mode options, including 2 (Safe, Semi-auto), 3 (Safe, Semi, Full Auto) or 4 (Safe, Semi, Limited burst of 2 or 3 rounds, Full auto) position levers, ambidextrous or not, and marked with letters, digits or icons.

The MP-5 is always fired from closed bolt for improved accuracy, but this limits the amount of sustained fire due to the barrel overheating and resulting cook-off problems. To avoid this, MP-5 cocking handle could be locked in the rear position in the special slot, leaving the bolt in the open position, with no cartridge in the chamber. To commence the fire one must simply release the cocking handle from its notch and then pull the trigger. Modern MP-5 submachine guns are equipped with three-lug quick detachable silencer mounts on the barrel. Sights are similar to other HK models, and consists of the front hooded post sight and the adjustable for windage and elevation drum-type diopter rear sight. Special quick-detachable clamp mounts allows for installation of night, optical and red-dot sights if required. Standard magazine capacity is 30 rounds, but shorter 15 rounds magazines are available.

Special versions were developed and manufactured in limited numbers during 1980s-90s for the U.S. Law Enforcement market, chambered for more powerful 10mm Auto (10×25mm) and .40S&W (10×22mm) ammunition. These guns can be easily distinguished from more common 9mm models by straight box 30 rounds magazines, made from plastic.

While all of MP-5 can be fitted with silencers, there also a dedicated silenced version of MP-5, called MP-5SD2 or SD3 (depending on the stock type). This version is equipped with non detachable integral silencer, and the vented barrel, to reduce the bullet muzzle velocity down below the speed of sound. The MP-5SD is intended to fire standard 9 mm ammunition, not the special subsonic one.

MP-5K-A4

emi-automatic only versions of the MP-5 were once made for civilian market under the designation of HK-94, some with longer, 16 inch (406 mm) barrels, to conform with U.S. laws. There also is an U.S. company, called Special Weapons LLC, that is manufacturing semi-automatic, civilian MP-5 clones in various pistol calibers, including the .45ACP.

• Caliber: 9 mm
• Cartridge: 9 ? 19 mm Luger
• Weight: 5.6 lb / 2.54 kg — MP5A2 | 6.35 lb / 2.88 kg — MP5A3
• Effective range: 220 yd / 200 m
• In service: 1966 — present

Manufacturer

Heckler & Koch

The Uzi SMG is the original and senior member of the Uzi family. This revolutionary sub machine gun was the first to introduce design features that later found their way into many other guns. The Uzi’s angular body is made from pressed steel parts. The Uzi uses a unique blowback mechanism with a bolt that wraps around the end of the barrel. Empty cases are ejected through slots in the body. This unique design is the key to achieving a combination of firepower and compact dimensions.

History

The weapon was designed by Major Uziel Gal of the Israel Defense Forces following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The design was loosely based on the Czechoslovakian series 23 to 26 submachine guns introduced in 1948 (Hogg 1979:157). The Uzi submachine gun was submitted to the Israeli army for evaluation and won out over more conventional designs due to its simplicity and economy of manufacture. Gal did not want the weapon to be named after him, but his request was ignored.

The initial model was accepted in 1951 and was first used in battle in 1956 and gained huge success. It was soon developed into a number of better engineered variants.

Israeli defense doctrine includes the practice of loading a magazine so that tracer rounds alternate with regular rounds. In operation, the personnel aim by walking the tracers onto the target.

The Uzi submachine gun was used as a personal defense weapon by rear-echelon troops, officers, artillery troops and tankers, as well as a frontline weapon by elite light infantry assault forces. The Uzi’s compact size and firepower proved instrumental in clearing Syrian bunkers and Jordanian defensive positions during the 1967 Six-Day War. Advanced and smaller Uzi variations were used by the Israeli special forces until recently, when in December 2003, the Israeli military announced that it was completely phasing the Uzi out of use by its forces but would continue to manufacture the weapon for both domestic use and export.

Total sales of the weapon to date (end 2001) has netted IMI over $2 billion (US), with over ninety countries using the weapons either for their soldiers or in law enforcement.

The German Bundeswehr used the Uzi since 1959 under the name MP2 (especially for tank crews) and is now changing to the MP7.

The Irish Garda? Emergency Response Unit (ERU) are replacing the Uzi with the MP7.

The Uzi was produced under license in Rhodesia in the late 1970s, from Israeli-supplied and later, domestically manufactured components. Commonly called the “Rhuzi” (although the title was also applied to some indigenous submachine gun designs).

It was also produced under license in Belgium by FN Herstal, and without license – in Croatia.

Sri Lanka ordered a few thousand Mini Uzi and Uzi Carbines in 1990s. Currently those are deployed with Sri Lanka Army special forces regiment and Sri Lanka Police Special Task Force as their primary weapon when providing security for VIPs.

Mini Uzi

Description and Specifications

The Uzi submachine gun is blowback operated weapon which fires from open bolt. Mini- and Micro-Uzi submachine guns are produced either in open-bolt or closed-bolt versions; in the latter variation, weapon is equipped with separate striker and additional spring. The receiver is made from stamped steel, with trigger unit and pistol grip pinned to its bottom at the center. The bolt is of “wrap-around” type, with most of its weight located in front of the breech face. The Micro-Uzi has an additional weight, made from tungsten, attached to the bolt, to slightly slow down the overly excessive rate of fire. The cocking handle is located at the top of the receiver cover, and does not move when gun is fired; the cocking handle slot is covered by sliding dust cover. Bolt handle is cut at the middle to provide a sighting channel. Gun is fitted with manual safety / fire selector, located on the left side of the grip, plus automatic grip safety at the rear. Full-size Uzi submachine guns were fitted either with a detachable wooden shoulder stock, or with underfolding metallic shoulder stock of indigenous design. More compact Mini-Uzi and Micro-Uzi are fitted with side-folding metallic buttstocks made from steel.

Micro Uzi

• Caliber: 9 mm
• Cartridge: 9 ? 19 mm Luger
• Weight: 7.7 lb /3.5 kg
• Effective range: 220 yd / 200 m
• In service: 1951 — present

Manufacturers

Israel Military Industries (IMI), FN Herstal, Norinco etc.