MP7

The MP7 is a German submachine gun manufactured by Heckler & Koch (H&K) and chambered for the 4.6x30mm cartridge. It was designed in conjunction with the new cartridge to meet NATO requirements published in 1989 calling for a personal defense weapon (PDW) class firearm with a greater ability to defeat body armor than current weapons, which are limited due to the use of conventional pistol cartridges. The MP7 went into production in 2001. It is a direct rival to the FN P90, also developed in response to NATO's requirement. The weapon has been revised since its introduction and the current production version is the MP7A1.

The proliferation of high-quality body armor has begun to make guns that fire pistol ammunition (such as HK's earlier MP5submachine gun or USP pistol) ineffective. In response to this trend, HK designed the MP7 (along with the now cancelled UCPpistol, which uses the same ammunition) to penetrate body armor, but small enough to be used in place of either a pistol or a submachine gun

The MP7 essentially operates like a scaled-down assault rifle, with the same action as HK's G36, a short stroke piston.^[2] It fires a specially designed, armor-piercing round with a muzzle velocity nearly as high as that of the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge used by many modern rifles. This ammunition is unique among submachine guns in that the bullet is made almost entirely of a hardened steel penetrator instead of softer brass or lead. The ammunition is virtually exclusive to the gun (save for the now cancelled H&K UCP and a planned variant of the Brügger & Thomet MP-9) and also offers low recoil.^[1] VBR of Belgium produces a 4.6x30mm 2-part controlled fragmenting projectile that is claimed to increase the content of the permanent wound cavity and double the chance to hit a vital organ.^[3] Heckler & Koch claims that the CPS Black Tip ammunition made by Fiocchi has a muzzle energy of approximately 525 J, which would be comparable to 9x19mm Parabellum rounds.^[4][5]

The round also has a small diameter (it can almost be described as a scaled down .223 Remington ), allowing for high capacity in a very small magazine.^[6] The weapon allows a conventional 20-round, 30-round, or 40-round box magazine to be fit within the pistol grip (the former being comparable in size to a 15-round 9 mm magazine, while the latter compares to a 30-round 9 mm magazine). The weapon features an ambidextrous fire-select lever and rear cocking grip. It has an extendable stock and a folding front grip; it can be fired either one-handed or two-handed. It is compact and light using polymers in its construction.