Heckler & Koch MP7

The Heckler & Koch MP7 (Machine Pistol 7) is a German Personal Defence Weapon (PDW) manufactured by Heckler & Koch (H&K) and chambered for the HK 4.6×30mm cartridge. It was designed with the new cartridge to meet NATO requirements published in 1989, as these requirements call for a personal defense weapon (PDW) class firearm, with a greater ability to penetrate body armor than current weapons limited to 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 versions are the MP7A1 and newest MP7A2.^[8][9][10]

The proliferation of high-quality body armour has begun to make guns that fire pistol ammunition (such as Heckler & Koch's earlier MP5 submachine gun or USP pistol) ineffective. In response to this trend, Heckler & Koch designed the MP7 (along with the now cancelled UCP pistol, which uses the same ammunition) to penetrate body armor while being small enough to be used in place of either a pistol or a submachine gun.^[8][9][11]

Design details

A German Army soldier demonstrates the MP7A1 of the IdZ program.

The MP7 uses a short-stroke piston gas system as used on H&K's G36 and HK416 assault rifles, in place of a blowback system traditionally seen on sub-machine guns including those by H&K.^[12] The 4.6×30mm ammunition is exclusive to the gun and offers low recoil.^[8][9] This ammunition is unique among submachine guns in that the bullet is made almost entirely of a hardened steel penetrator instead of softer copper or lead.

The MP7 allows a conventional 20-round, 30-round or 40-round box magazine to be fitted within the pistol grip (the 20-round magazine being comparable in size to a 15-round 9×19mm magazine, while the 40-round magazine compares to a 30-round 9×19mm magazine). It features an ambidextrous fire selector, bolt catch lever and magazine release. It has an extendable stock and a folding front grip; it can be fired either one-handed or two-handed.^[8][9] It is compact and light, due to the use of polymers in its construction.

The MP7 has a cyclic rate of fire of 950 rounds per minute (RPM).

Ammunition

The MP7's specially designed armour piercing (AP) high velocity rounds consist of either copper plated solid steel (DM11), alloy plated steel jacket (DM21) or copper-alloy-jacketed lead core projectiles (Fiocchi FMJ ZP). Standard AP high velocity DM11 (Ultimate Combat) round with a 2.0 g (31 gr) projectile has a muzzle velocity of 720 m/s (2,362 ft/s) and has a muzzle energy of 506 J (373 ft-lbf).^[13] The DM11 round penetrates the NATO CRISAT target (20 layers of kevlar with 1.6 mm titanium backing) even at 200 m.^[14] The round has a small diameter, allowing for redoubling penetration capability and high capacity in a very small magazine.^[15]

VBR of Belgium produces a 4.6×30mm 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.^[8][9][16] 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 9×19mm Parabellum rounds.^[17][18]

Accessories

The MP7 features a full-length, top-mounted Picatinny rail that comes as standard with folding fore and rear iron sights attached. When the sights are folded flat, they resemble Patridge style open sights. Folded up, they feature aperture sights. The sights can easily be removed by loosening a single screw and lifting them off. It can fit additional rails on the sides of the barrel, which allow it to mount commercial optical sights (telescopic and red dot sights), laser aiming modules (LAM), and tactical flashlights. It can also accept a suppressor, and its tailor-made suppressor does not interfere with its accuracy or rate of fire.

Variants

A recent production MP7A1 (note the safety trigger) with a Zeiss RSA reflex red dot sight on display as part of Germany's IdZ program.^[19]

• PDW: The first prototype shown in 1999 was designated the 'PDW' (Personal Defense Weapon). It had a short Picatinny rail on the top and a smooth pistol grip surface.
• MP7: In 2001 it was named the 'MP7' and went into production. It included a full length Picatinny rail, a thick curved stock and an anti-slide surface on the pistol grip much like the HK USP. It also featured folding iron sights mounted on the Picatinny rail and the button to fold the foregrip was made larger for easier operation.
• MP7A1: In 2003 its designation was changed to 'MP7A1' and featured a redesigned pistol grip with a different surface and curved shape, a smaller stock with a straight buttpad, side mounted picatinny rails as standard and the folding iron sights were made more compact. The weapon was made slightly longer, but because the stock was shortened, the overall length did not change. The stock is also able to be locked into 3 positions. Recent MP7A1 models have a trigger safety similar to a Glock pistol; the middle section of the trigger must be pulled first before the outer part will move. This helps to stop accidental discharges if the trigger is bumped.^[8][9]
• MP7A2: Without folding front grip and added fourth Picatinny rail in its place to mount grips of the user's preference.
• MP7-SF: Semi-automatic only variant of MP7. Currently used by Ministry of Defence Police in United Kingdom.

Heckler & Koch UCP

The Heckler & Koch Universal Combat Pistol (HK UCP), a double action, semi-automatic handgun also known as the HK P46, was developed under commission for the German Bundeswehr.

The concept for the UCP was later discontinued at the prototype stage.

History and description

The UCP was to be the companion side arm to the HK MP7 submachine gun, using the same HK 4.6×30mm bottlenecked cartridge (see internal ballistics). The 4.6×30mm round is a direct competitor to the 5.7×28mm by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN). As such, the UCP would have been a direct competitor to the FN Five-seven pistol. Both have greater armor-piercing capabilities and less recoil compared to other commonly used military handgun cartridges, such as the 9×19mm Parabellum or .45 ACP.

The UCP operated on the delayed-blowback operating principle. The external design of the UCP appears to have been borrowed from the HK P2000 pistol, and includes ambidextrous controls, interchangeable backstraps, and a MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny-type rail system for the attachment of accessories. Like the USP and P2000 series of pistols, the trigger mechanism is reported to have been modular and capable of different configurations. The UCP was designed to accept an extended, threaded barrel capable of accepting the attachment of a sound suppressor made by Brügger & Thomet.

The design remained in the prototype phase as of 2006, and had been reported as entering limited trials with the Bundeswehr.

In July 2009, HK USA's president, Wayne Weber, indicated that the UCP project has been cancelled because "HK felt it did not provide adequate ballistics in handgun form."^[20]

Users

Country	Organization name	Model	Quantity	Date	Reference
Albania	Special Operations Battalion (Albania)	−	−	−	[21][22]
Australia	Western Australia Department of Corrective Services Emergency Support Group	−	−	−	[9][23]
Austria	Einsatzkommando Cobra (EKO Cobra) of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior	−	−	−	[9][24]
Bangladesh	1st Para Commando Battalion Bangladesh Army	−	−	−
Brunei	Special Forces Regiment of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces	MP7A1	−	−	[25]
Czech Republic	Police of the Czech Republic - PDW of ordinary police officers - guns are locked in a special compartment of ordinary police cars' front doors	MP7A1	−	2012	[26]
Egypt	Unit 777 - Egyptian military counter-terrorism and special operations	--	--	--	-
Estonia	ESTSOF	−	−	−	[27]
France	French special forces, DGSE SA, GIGN	MP7A1	−	−	[28][29]
Germany	German Army		−	−	[8][9][30]
	Grenzschutzgruppe 9 (GSG 9) counter-terrorism group of the German Federal Police		−	−	[9][31]
	SEK SWAT police unit (state police) of several German states	−	−	−	[9][32]
	Baden-Württemberg Police	-	3000	-	[33]
Georgia	Ministry of Internal Affairs	−	−	−	[34][35]
Greece	13th Special Operations Command special forces of the Hellenic Army	--	--	--	-
Indonesia	Komando Pasukan Khusus (KOPASSUS) special forces of the Indonesian Army	−	−	−	[36]
Ireland	Garda; Special Detective Unit, Emergency Response Unit, Regional Support Unit, National Bureau of Criminal Investigation	MP7A1	−	2006	[8][37][38] [9][39]
Italy	9th Parachute Assault Regiment	−	−	−	[9]
	N.O.C.S. of Polizia di Stato	−	−	−	[9]
Japan	Japanese Special Forces Group	−	−	−	[40]
Jordan	Royal Guards, Special forces 71 Antiterrorism Unit	−	−	−	[9][41]
Malaysia	Pasukan Khas Laut (PASKAL) counter-terrorism group of the Royal Malaysian Navy	MP7A1	−	2006	[9][42]
	Pasukan Gerakan Khas (PGK) counter-terrorism divisions of the Royal Malaysia Police		−	2007	[8][9]
Mauritius	GIPM		−	2013	-
Norway	Norwegian Armed Forces		6,500	2007	[8][9][43]
Oman	−	−	−	−	[9][41]
Republic of Korea	Republic of Korea Army 707th Special Mission Battalion	−	−	−	[9][15]
	Republic of Korea National Police Agency SWAT	−	−	−	[8][9]
	Presidential Security Service	−	−	−	[44]
Romania	SRI Brigada Antitero	MP7A1	−	−	[45]
Serbia	Serbian Special Forces	MP7A1	-	-	[46]
Russia	Spetsnaz special forces unit of the Russian Army	MP7A1	-	-	[47]
United Kingdom	Ministry of Defence Police and Metropolitan Police	MP7-SF	−	−	[8][9][48]
United States	United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group	−	−	−	[9][49]
	Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety in California	MP7A1	−	−	[9][50][51]
Vatican City	Pontifical Swiss Guard		−	−	[52]

Gallery

• 
  An MP7A1 with Zeiss RSA reflex red dot sight and LLM01 laser light module.
• 
  British MoD police on patrol in London with a MP7-SF.
• 
  MP7A1.
• 
  MoD Police Conducting Search Drills on a Warship.
• 
  MOD Police Officer on range with an MP7-SF in CBRN Suit.
• 
  MP7A1 (note the safety trigger) with a Zeiss RSA reflex red dot sight
• 
  Royal Malaysian Navy PASKAL frogman on standby in Kuala Lumpur with an MP7A1.

See also

• FN P90
• PP-2000
• SR-2 Veresk
• ST Kinetics CPW

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: MP7 (category)

• HK Defense: MP7 product page
• 2008 Heckler & Koch Military and LE brochure
• HKPRO page on HK MP7
• Modern Firearms — HK MP7
• Bundeswehr fact sheet (in German)
• Gun-World.net gallery of the MP7 (in Chinese)
• Nazarian's Gun's Recognition Guide (FILM) H&K MP7 PDW Presentation (.wmv)
• Video of the MP7
• Presentation of mp7 for the German Police
• Modern Firearms: Heckler-Koch Ultimate Combat Pistol / HK UCP