Firearms / Sub machine guns / FN P90
FN P90
General Facts
- TYPE
Sub machine gun - ORIGIN
Belgium - NICKNAMES
- - DESIGNED
1986 - 1990 - DESIGNER
Fabrique Nationale - PRODUCTION
1990 - present (P90)
1999 - present (P90 TR)
2005 - present (PS90) - PRODUCERS
Belgium - Fabrique Nationale - QUANTITY
17.000 in 2003 - UNIT COST
Unknown - CHARACTERISTICS
Large magazine capacity
Compact bullpup design
Ergonomic layout
Low weight
Magazine feed issues
Introduction
The P90 is a modern sub machine gun of Belgian origin that is known for its unique design. It was developed in the early 1990's by Fabrique Nationale as a personal defense weapon.
Design
The P90 is a sub machine gun with a unique bullpup design. It fires the 5.7x28mm round from a 50 round magazine that lies on top of the weapon. A feed chute in the magazine rotates the rounds before entering the weapon. The bullpup design results in a compact weapon. The weapon is mostly made out of polymer.
Firepower
The P90 fires the 5.7x28mm round from a 50 round magazines. These rounds are known for their armor piercing capability. The P90 is capable of semi-automatic fire and automatic fire at a cyclic rate of fire of 900 rounds per minute. The maximum effective range is quoted as 200 meters.
Users
The P90 has been sold to a large variety of special forces and law enforcement units around the world. In the USA it is used with over 200 law enforcement agencies.
P90
Originally the P90 was available in one version. It was fitted with a reflex sight and no accessory rails. The P90 is fitted with a HC-14-62 or MC-10-80 reflex sight. In the mid 2000's the designation was changed to P90 Standard with certain elements of the P90TR being available, such as side mounted accessory rails and LV and LIR attachments. The P90 USG is fitted with a similar sight unit as the P90, but has a black reticle that does not require daylight.
Type | Sub machine gun |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.7x28mm |
Magazine | 50 |
Operation | Straight blowback, short recoilling barrel, closed bolt |
Fire selector | 0-1-F |
Rate of fire | 900 rpm |
Barrel length | 257 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 6 grooves, 229 mm right hand twist |
Muzzle velocity | 715 m/s |
Stock | Fixed |
Length | 500 mm |
Width | 55 mm |
Height | 210 mm |
---|---|
Weight | 2.78 kg empty, 3.1 kg loaded |
Sights | Integrated 1x optical sight |
Remarks | - |
Type | Sub machine gun |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.7x28mm |
Magazine | 50 |
Operation | Straight blowback, short recoilling barrel, closed bolt |
Fire selector | 0-1-F |
Rate of fire | 900 rpm |
Barrel length | 257 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 6 grooves, 229 mm right hand twist |
Muzzle velocity | 715 m/s |
Stock | Fixed |
Length | 500 mm |
Width | 55 mm |
Height | 210 mm |
---|---|
Weight | 2.78 kg empty, 3.1 kg loaded |
Sights | Integrated 1x optical sight |
Remarks | - |
P90TR
The P90TR is similar to the original P90 except for the sight unit. TR stands for Triple Rail as instead of the integrated sight three Picatinny accessory rails are fitted. This allows various optics and attachments such as lasers and lights to be fitted. In the mid 2000's the designation was changed into P90 Tactical. The P90TR is also available as the P90LV and P90LIR with an integrated visible laser and IR laser respectively.
Type | Sub machine gun |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.7x28mm |
Magazine | 50 |
Operation | Straight blowback, short recoilling barrel, closed bolt |
Fire selector | 0-1-F |
Rate of fire | 900 rpm |
Barrel length | 257 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 6 grooves, 229 mm right hand twist |
Muzzle velocity | 715 m/s |
Stock | Fixed |
Length | 500 mm |
Width | 55 mm |
Height | ? |
---|---|
Weight | 2.92 kg empty, 3.2 kg loaded |
Sights | Picatinny sight rail, iron backup sights |
Remarks | - |
Type | Sub machine gun |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.7x28mm |
Magazine | 50 |
Operation | Straight blowback, short recoilling barrel, closed bolt |
Fire selector | 0-1-F |
Rate of fire | 900 rpm |
Barrel length | 257 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 6 grooves, 229 mm right hand twist |
Muzzle velocity | 715 m/s |
Stock | Fixed |
Length | 500 mm |
Width | 55 mm |
Height | ? |
---|---|
Weight | 2.92 kg empty, 3.2 kg loaded |
Sights | Picatinny sight rail, iron backup sights |
Remarks | Integrated visible laser, or infrared laser in P90LIR model |
PS90
The PS90 is a civilian model of the P90 that was developed for the US civilian market. It was introduced in 2005. The PS90 is semi-automatic only and has a much longer barrel that extends from the weapon. The standard 50 round magazine can be fitted, but the PS90 is only sold with 10 or 30 round magazines. The PS90 is available with the Standard, USG and TR sight units.
- Specifications:
- PS90
Type | Sub machine gun |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.7x28mm |
Magazine | 10, 30, 50 |
Operation | Straight blowback, short recoilling barrel, closed bolt |
Fire selector | 0-1 |
Rate of fire | Semi-automatic |
Barrel length | 407 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 8 grooves, 178mm right hand twist |
Muzzle velocity | 777 m/s |
Stock | Fixed |
Length | 667 mm |
Width | 55 mm |
Height | ? |
---|---|
Weight | 2.9 kg empty, 3.4 kg loaded |
Sights | Integrated 1x optical sight or Picatinny rail |
Remarks | - |