In the article "A promising army pistol based on the PDW concept" we examined the alleged appearance of an army pistol - a personal weapon of a professional soldier, which can be used against an enemy in personal body armor (NIB), in the event of the loss or failure of the main weapon - an assault rifle, and also in other situations that may arise in the course of an unpredictable development of the situation on the battlefield. For example, in the case of a collision with the enemy at close range, when the machine has run out of cartridges. In the course of intense dynamic combat in a city, indoors, this situation is quite real, like many others.
Whatever the main weapon, its reliability cannot be absolute, and accordingly, a situation may arise when a second weapon is required. Grenades alone, which are often offered to replace the pistol, cannot be solved, it is foolish to undermine yourself and the enemy in a situation where everything could be resolved with a couple of dozen shots from a pistol.
A small digression about PM
Many argue that it is easiest to carry a Makarov pistol (PM), the likelihood of the need for its use is small, which means that more is not needed. Yes, the PM is easier to "carry" than a modern army pistol, but only to carry it. But its effectiveness in the situation described above may be absolutely insufficient. In this matter, I do not even trust the opinion of the combatants who had a pistol, but have never used it, and on this basis they believe that it can be abandoned or "leave the good old" PM. Many have never used a fire extinguisher or first aid kit in the car, but this does not mean that they should not be there, such decisions are made not based on personal experience, but on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of previous and predicted situations.
I think that the pressure exerted on US Army personnel by insurance companies is quite justified, when in the event of injury or death, payments will not be made in the absence of all the items of standard equipment required to wear - body armor, pistol, flashlight, etc. The consequences of arbitrariness in the equipment of fighters before going on a mission is well shown in the film "The Fall of the Black Hawk".
And yes, for those who have a burden to carry any personal weapon larger than the PM, discussed in the previous material, an army pistol may well be released both in a full-size and in a compact "general" version, with a magazine for 14-16 rounds and a reduced barrel length.
The proposed promising pistol of limiting parameters can be used not only by linear army units, but by special purpose units or other power structures with special statutory tasks. In this case, it may be necessary to additionally equip the pistol with various attachments and equipment, as well as special ammunition, which we will discuss below.
Carbine kit
One of the devices that significantly increase the effectiveness of pistol firing is a product called a "carbine kit". In a sense, its prototype can be considered such a product as a holster-butt, which was produced, for example, for Mauser C-96 and APS pistols. The accuracy of firing from the specified weapon with an attached holster-butt increases markedly, but its cumbersomeness in carrying negates all the advantages it offers.
The modern carbine kit is designed to increase the convenience of holding the weapon when firing from hands and from a shoulder rest, increase the length of the aiming line, and provide the ability to install additional accessories.
The most popular karabiner-kit kits have received from Israeli manufacturers, a country whose armed forces are one of the most belligerent in the world.
Many manufacturers produced carbine whales, even the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant developed a carbine kit for the Makarov pistol.
The question arises: why do we need a carbine kit, isn't it easier to take a submachine gun (PP) right away? But the same question can be rephrased in a different way: what are the global advantages of a submachine gun over a pistol in a carbine kit? Slightly higher initial bullet energy due to longer barrel length and burst mode?
Submachine guns, significantly superior to pistols chambered for the same cartridge in terms of initial bullet energy, have weight and size characteristics approaching compact versions of assault rifles and assault rifles, which have much higher characteristics. A compact PP will be comparable in performance to a pistol in a carbine kit. In terms of cost, a submachine gun will be several times more expensive than a carbine kit.
I do not call for abandoning submachine guns, they will have their own niche, but the small-sized PP combination pistol + carbine-kit may well displace.
With regard to the pistol of limiting parameters considered in the previous material, the carbine-kit can become the most important accessory that significantly increases its capabilities. The small-caliber ammunition intended for use in a promising pistol with high velocity and a flat trajectory of the bullet will allow the pistol + carbine-kit to show characteristics comparable to PPs implemented according to the PDW concept, such as H&K MP7 or FN P-90.
It is for the pistol + carbine-kit bundle that the fully automatic firing mode of a promising pistol is intended, switching into which should be carried out with increased effort. When placed in a carbine kit, the lever of the safety / fire translator must be synchronized with the external lever of the carbine kit, with increased dimensions that increase the ease of switching it to automatic mode. The butt of the carbine kit should be able to be fixed at angles of 90 degrees from the axis of the barrel in both directions (ideally at an arbitrary angle) and the ability to hold it by hand like a pistol grip. We will talk about why this is necessary below.
What is a carbine kit for? For example, in a situation where it is necessary to carry a concealed weapon, but at the same time, in the event of a complication of the situation, it may be necessary to increase firepower. A carbine kit with a "harness" can be left in the car, or stored in relatively unprotected conditions indoors, while a PP or submachine gun can hardly be left unattended outside the weapons room. Another option is the use by servicemen or employees of other law enforcement agencies who, due to their duty, are not entitled to any other weapon than a pistol.
The carbine kit gives the pistol another advantage - it significantly increases the ability to install various attachments.
Attachments
The characteristics of modern weapons largely determine the possibility of installing additional equipment on them. What equipment can enhance the capabilities of a promising pistol of extreme parameters?
First of all, you can remember the laser designator (LTS). Most professional shooters will say that this accessory is not only useless, but also harmful, and in some ways they will be right. The use of the LRC in many ways dampens the shooter, while, in many situations, there may be no sense from the LRC. For example, if you shoot at a moving target, behind which there is no obstacle, the LU point will not be visible, and to aim at the laser target you will need to either guide the beam along the ground, or move the barrel from side to side to see it on the target, all these are unacceptable losses time.
Why, then, is the LCC needed? It can be indispensable when shooting from behind cover or wearing night vision goggles (if there is an IR emitter), when it is inconvenient or there is no time to bring the pistol to the line of sight of the shooter's eyes.
Also, the LCC can be useful when moving a soldier with a tactical shield and a pistol, when firing from a car and in many other similar situations.
An equally useful accessory is the tactical underbarrel flashlight. When working indoors, they can illuminate unseen areas, which often arise from the contrast of light and shadow. The underbarrel lamp can be integrated with the LCC module.
The electronic unit can be supplemented with a built-in video camera. Currently, such cameras are used for video recording of the use of weapons, which is already extremely important for the police and ordinary citizens, for example, as evidence of the legality of self-defense.
But a much greater effect can be provided by providing a video signal output to a fighter's tactical helmet, or to a compact monitor placed on the butt of a carbine kit or on a fighter's equipment (for example, on a hand, with Velcro). This will make it possible to use the weapon as a means of reconnaissance, it will make it possible, for example, to look around the corner without unmasking and support for the bullets of the fighter himself. At close range, according to the image from the video camera, the fighter can fire at the target from behind cover with the use of LCC. For this, in the carbine kit, the possibility of fixing the butt at an angle of 90 degrees (ideally at an arbitrary angle) should be implemented with the ability to hold the butt with the second hand with a pistol grip. Maybe it will be less convenient than shooting "around the corner" from specialized devices, but the general solution will turn out to be much more universal.
All of the above can (should be) implemented both in compact versions, for placement directly on the pistol, and in the version for placement on a carbine kit.
Reflex sight. You can be skeptical about its use on pistols, but on a carbine kit, it can become an important addition that simplifies and increases the speed of aiming weapons at a target.
A silencer can become an important addition to a promising pistol of limiting parameters. Two types of mufflers can be realized. The first one should be designed to work with supersonic ammunition, in this case, the sound of the shot is only partially reduced (although it can also work with subsonic ammunition). When flying at a speed of 750-780 m / s, the bullet of cartridge 7, 62x39 gives a sound pressure of about 84-86 dB, in our case it will be even less. The shooter can feel comfortable without headphones, there are no hearing injuries when shooting indoors, the sound from the side of the shooter is not always identified as a shot.
It should be the most compact and reliable solution for everyday use.
The second muffler should be optimized for maximum sound reduction and handling of heavy subsonic bullets. Given the small caliber of cartridges planned for use in a promising pistol of limiting parameters, it will not be easy to make a subsonic bullet with high efficiency. Nevertheless, using developments on 9x39 cartridges for silent weapons, it is quite possible to create similar ammunition in the conditional caliber 5, 45x30, with an elongated bullet weighing about 7-9 grams.
Thus, as part of the creation of a pistol of limiting parameters, in addition to the pistol itself, the weapon-cartridge complex should include several types of ammunition - supersonic with increased armor penetration and subsonic with a heavy bullet, training ammunition with a reduced cost, a carbine kit and a set of attachments. The set of attachments will include - an electronic unit that includes an IR and visible range, a flashlight and a video camera (two versions - a small one for mounting under a pistol and for mounting on a carbine-kit), a collimator sight for a carbine-kit and two types of silencers - compact for firing supersonic and subsonic cartridges and a larger one to ensure the most silent firing with subsonic ammunition
Most of the equipment listed in the article has already been sold by foreign and sometimes domestic manufacturers, and this is great. It remains only to choose the best options, to finalize what needs to be finalized, to implement those functions that have not yet been implemented. And most importantly, this must be done "with a single goal according to a single plan" in order to end up with a complete complex. weapon-equipment-cartridge, and not a set of blanks for independent creativity.
It may seem that the cost of this weapon-equipment-cartridge complex will be too high for the budget, but in reality this is far from the case. Much of the above is already included in the equipment of the fighters of modern armies, including the Russian one. Professional military training is expensive, and the political cost of casualties in military conflicts or terrorist attacks can be much higher. What is unacceptable for a mass conscript army is inevitable for a professional contract army and special services. How much has the cost of aircraft increased since the Second World War, and how much has the cost of infantry equipment increased? But if we talk about the fighters of special units, then the cost and duration of their training may not be much less than that of the pilots.
Do not forget that modern technologies often tend to become cheaper over time. Today, weapons for special forces with increased characteristics are being created, and tomorrow it will be possible to significantly reduce the cost of manufacturing them and make weapons available for full-scale equipping of the armed forces.
