At the beginning of the last decade of the last century, Heckler & Koch specialists decided to expand the range of products and this time to occupy the so-called niche. PDW. The concept of Personal Defense Weapon (personal self-defense weapon), which is becoming more widespread, implies the creation of relatively compact weapons with sufficient combat performance. PDW is viewed as a standard weapon of servicemen who, by the nature of their service, are not supposed to have a "full-size" machine gun, i.e. armored vehicle crews, gun crews, pilots, staff workers, etc.
After several years of research, HK finally came to the conclusion what their version of this PDW should be: a submachine gun with small dimensions (up to the possibility of carrying it in a pistol-like holster), an appropriate cartridge and good accuracy and accuracy.
Since it was required to create a weapon with small dimensions, without sacrificing combat qualities, first of all, the capacity of the store, it was decided to make a new submachine gun along with a cartridge for it. In cooperation with the British company Radway Green, "Heckler-Koch" eventually launched the cartridge 4, 6x30 mm HK. Interestingly, German-British cooperation in the creation of a new cartridge followed the same path as the Soviet TsNIITochmash back in the early 70s. Recall that then a cartridge 5, 45x18 mm MPTs was developed for small-sized pistols. In the case of the MPC, the developers "inserted" a new smaller caliber bullet into the cartridge case from the 9x18 mm PM cartridge, which ultimately reduced the dimensions and weight of the cartridge, but retained more or less tolerable fighting qualities, although the stopping effect, in contrast to the penetrating one, turned out to be relatively small. The Germans and the British, in turn, did not take the finished cartridge case, but designed it together with the bullet.
Initially, two variants of the 4, 6-mm cartridge were created: the armor-piercing 4.6 AP (aka CPSS) and the expansive 4.6 Action (another designation is SHP). All other things being the same, they have a 1.6 gram bullet with a carbide core and an expansive 2 gram bullet, respectively. The first type of cartridge was supposed to be used in army and police special forces, the second - because of the greater stopping effect only in the police. According to the manufacturer, the armor-piercing version of cartridge 4, 6x30 mm, at distances of up to 150 meters, breaks through two dozen layers of Kevlar and a 1.5 mm titanium plate in addition. Later, versions of the cartridge were created with a conventional shell bullet (2, 6 g) and an easily destructible training bullet (1, 94 g). Moreover, all variants of bullets have a blunt nose - to reduce the likelihood of ricochets.
The relatively small size of the cartridge ultimately made it possible to reduce the dimensions of all weapons, mainly its thickness. The new weapon received a rather "original" and obvious index - PDW. We can say that the burghers from HK at the beginning simply did not fixate on the name. Something similar happened with most of the filling of the submachine gun. As you know, the company's previous submachine gun - MP5 - was made on the basis of the G3 automatic rifle. So with PDW, they decided not to be smart, but to do it using the mechanisms of the new G36 machine gun. The result of the "unification" was a relatively short development time - the first PDW prototype went to the shooting gallery in 1999.
In general, it looked the same as the subsequent production variants, with the difference that the prototypes had a smooth pistol grip coating and a short Picatinny rail on the receiver. The telescopic stock and folding front grip were already on prototypes. Thanks to the small-sized ammunition, the regular magazine for 20 rounds almost completely fits into the pistol grip, and later magazines for 30 and 40 rounds will be presented. They uncritically increase the size of the weapon, although they protrude beyond the handle.
In 2001, the submachine gun modified according to the test results was named MP7 (Maschinen Pistole-7 - Submachine gun-7), went into series and entered service with special forces. It differs from the PDW prototypes with its coated handles that prevent the shooter's hand from sliding off them, a Picatinny rail almost the entire length of the receiver and an updated sight. The latter is open, has an adjustable rear sight and front sight. Interestingly, the standard sighting devices on the MP7 were made foldable to facilitate the "interaction" of the weapon with the holster. In the folded position, the front sight and rear sight are blocked by special buttons.
Almost immediately after entering service, the MP7 was able to fight in Afghanistan, and the special forces who used it quickly presented their wishes to HK. As a result, in 2003, a new version of the submachine gun, the MP7A1, began to be produced. The standard sight of the A1 modification was reduced, and the shape of the pistol grip was slightly changed for greater convenience. Also, for a number of reasons, the weapon had to be slightly lengthened, but this was offset by a decrease in the length of the butt. The latter, at the request of the special forces, received a blocker that fixes it in one of three positions. In addition to the above, the design of the trigger was first changed - an automatic safety device was placed on it, similar to those used on Glock pistols.
The MP7A1 turned out to be so successful that in 2006 it was adopted by all the power structures of Germany, and since 2005 it began to be exported. Interestingly, a variant of the MP7SF was created specifically for the British police, which differs from other versions of the MP7 in the absence of automatic fire. Why exactly this option was needed by the English "bobby" is unknown, and in general such a modification looks dubious.
At the moment, the HK MP7 is the main and only possible competitor to the Belgian FN P90 submachine gun. If the NATO command decides to replace the 9x19 mm Parabellum cartridge and weapons for it with a new model, then the MP7 and P90, along with their cartridges, will have to compete for the right to replace the good old "Para". And the outcome of this competition is difficult to predict: "Heckler-Koch" is cheaper, more compact and lighter, and the P90 is part of the complex, which, in addition to it and the cartridge, has an FN Five-seveN pistol. At the same time, the P90 is older and has already spread in considerable numbers.
As already stated, most of the parts of the MP7 are borrowed from the G36 rifle. Therefore, this submachine gun is one of the few representatives of its class, whose automation works at the expense of powder gases. The piston stroke is short and the barrel is locked by turning the bolt. Cocking the MP7 resembles a similar process for the M-16 rifle: the shooter pulls back the T-handle located on the back of the receiver, above the butt.
The body is mostly made of plastic, although there are a number of metal parts - mostly pins and seats for internal parts. The trigger mechanism allows you to fire single shots and bursts. The fire translator flags are located on both sides of the receiver above the pistol grip. At the same time, the translator performs the functions of a non-automatic safety device. The marks indicating the position of the fuse translator on the MP7 are not alphabetic (S, E, F), but pictographic ones: a white rectangle with a crossed out bullet for the “safety” position, a red bullet in a rectangle for single fire and several red bullets for automatic.
The layout of the "exterior" of the MP7 was made in such a way that both right-handers and left-handers could use the submachine gun. You can shoot from the MP7 with the stock spread out, resting on the shoulder or elbow (the second option is less convenient), using the front grip, as well as “pistol-like”. With proper training, the shooter can even fire with two hands. This should probably appeal to filmmakers.
The barrel of honey called HK MP7 was not without a fly in the ointment: some shooters note that the original version of the butt was more or less comfortable in length, but after upgrading to version A1, it became more difficult and inconvenient to use the butt. Also, users of the submachine gun faced the same problem that the Soviet security forces went through back in the 70s: the weak stopping effect of a small-caliber bullet. Of course, a special expansive bullet can be used in the MP7, but if the enemy is wearing a bulletproof vest, it is of little use. True, there are rumors that the German special forces almost immediately, in Afghanistan, figured out how to deal with this scourge: load armor-piercing and expansive cartridges into the store alternately, just like in aviation during the Second World War.
Sometimes Heckler & Koch MP7 is called the weapon of the future. Well, there is some truth in this title. Plastic case, compatibility with the "body kit", several cartridge options, as they say, for all occasions - it seems that the MP7 has collected almost all the trends in the development of modern small arms. This means that the MP7 in the near future may become a new legend, like the "old man" MP5.