Heckler & Koch is reluctant to talk to the press, as its main clients are the Bundeswehr and the armed forces of NATO countries. It is not so easy to get acquainted with the new weapons of H&K in the army itself. The point here is not at all being closed, but in the fact that the Bundeswehr sends the latest infantry weapons for "running-in" in crisis regions - in Afghanistan, Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East, so that in Germany itself it is still a rarity. Nevertheless, the German military department made an exception, and we were kindly given the opportunity to get acquainted in detail with one of the advanced developments of the German company - the MP7 model, which is a fundamentally new type of small arms - PDW (Personal Defense Weapon).
The term PDW originated in the mid-1980s when Heckler & Koch introduced the MP5K-PDW, a variant of the MP5K submachine gun with a folding stock. However, it could not be considered a real PDW, combining the compactness of a pistol, the rate of fire of a submachine gun and the effectiveness of an assault rifle: the 9x19 cartridge did not allow creating a weapon that would meet such conflicting requirements. The first real step in this direction was made by the Belgians, who presented in the early 90s a complex from a Five-seveN pistol and a PDW FN P90 pistol chambered for a new cartridge 5, 7x28. Heckler & Koch found itself in the position of catching up and only a decade later broke the FN monopoly by offering its version of the PDW in caliber 4, 6x30. Since then, the Belgian and German PDW models have been competing with each other, and NATO has not finally decided in whose favor to make a choice, allowing the members of the alliance to make it independently.
PDW for the Bundeswehr
Today, in the German army, the proportion of classical infantry, that is, soldiers who must directly fight the enemy with an assault rifle, is relatively small. This is to blame for both the emphasis on peacekeeping and counterterrorism missions and the saturation of modern troops with heavy and high-tech weapons systems that require numerous means of logistics, support and supply. Thus, in the modern army there is a significant range of military specialties, the primary tasks of which are not associated with direct participation in hostilities. On the other hand, servicemen of this category (drivers of combat vehicles and vehicles, medical orderlies, staff workers and signalmen, soldiers of engineering and repair units, etc.) are not insured against the risk of attack from the enemy and therefore need self-defense weapons. Until recently, various types of small arms played its role in the Bundeswehr: P1 and P8 pistols, MP2 Uzi submachine guns, as well as G3 and G36 assault rifles.
The pistol and submachine gun have two significant drawbacks when used for the indicated purpose. The first is unsatisfactory accuracy, which ensures acceptable firing efficiency only at relatively short distances. The second drawback is the weak penetrating action of the pistol cartridge, which makes fire on attacking manpower protected by body armor ineffective, not to mention firing at lightly armored vehicles.
The assault rifle is free of these shortcomings and equipping soldiers with it for self-defense was one of the compromises. However, the experience of using the G3 and G36 rifles has shown that, due to its size, the rifle often becomes an obstacle in the performance of the soldier's main duties. In conditions of limited space (in the cockpit of a car, aircraft or helicopter, in the fighting compartment of combat vehicles), the rifle and the fixtures for its attachment occupy a sufficiently large volume that could be used more rationally.
The study of the problem by specialists of the BWB (army department for material and technical supply) revealed the need to develop and adopt specialized self-defense weapons that would satisfy three basic requirements:
- the sample must be a full-fledged weapon capable of single and automatic fire;
- in terms of its dimensions, the weapon should occupy a position between the pistol and the submachine gun;
- in terms of ballistic properties at a distance of using PDW, the new weapon should not be noticeably inferior to weapons chambered for 5, 56x45 and ensure the defeat of manpower in body armor at a distance of up to 200 m.
At the same time, German experts note that we are not talking about replacing existing types of small arms. PDW is seen by them as an addition to the existing infantry weapons system, allowing them to fill the existing niche between pistols, submachine guns and assault rifles.
History of the MP7
Personal self-defense weapon PDW MP7 was developed in the late 90s in accordance with the NATO program for the "modernization of the soldier" AC225 of 1989-16-04, in Germany called the Infanterist der Zukunft (IdZ) - infantry of the future. Despite this, Heckler & Koch financed the creation of PDW entirely from its own funds. The Oberndorf-based company is the largest European manufacturer of infantry weapons and the most important supplier for the Bundeswehr, so its designers knew exactly what the German military needed. Cartridge 4, 6x30 was designed by British ammunition manufacturer Royal Ordnance, Radway Green (part of BAE Systems) in conjunction with Dynamit Nobel.
Despite the fact that the new weapon is not a submachine gun, it still received the “submachine gun” designation Maschinenpistole 7 (MP7), since this type of small arms is not provided for in the Bundeswehr's weapons catalog. The number "7" means that this is the seventh sample assigned to this type of weapon and recommended for supplying the German armed forces. The predecessors of the PDW MP7 in the catalog were the MP1 (Thompson M1A1 submachine gun), MP2 (Uzi), MP3 and MP4 (Walther MP-L and MP-K, respectively), as well as the H&K MP5. Which model of the submachine gun was assigned the designation MP6 was not reported in the open press. To avoid the use of the English-language abbreviation, the Bundeswehr coined its term "Nahbereichwaffe" (close range weapon) for the PDW. However, until now this name has not caught on and is very rare.
The MP7 prototype was first presented in 1999, but its tests revealed the need for a number of design changes: a flame arrester and a fixed receiver cover were introduced, the picatinny rail was lengthened and made to the full length of the receiver, the fixed front sight of the mechanical sight, made as part of a gas venting device.
These improvements were completed by 2001, after which the new weapon entered the army special forces (KSK), special operations division (DSO) and military police. After the modernization of 2003, the PDW received the MP7A1 index and in this form was adopted by the Bundeswehr to replace the MP2A1 submachine gun with a folding metal stock. The modernization consisted in changing the shape of the pistol grip and butt, introducing an additional side rail "picatinny" and a folding mechanical sight.
In the German army, the MP7A1 is planned to equip both soldiers and officers of combat units (machine gun crews, crews of military vehicles) and personnel not directly involved in hostilities (medical and transport units, military police). It is believed that such a retooling will solve two important problems. The first is to equip servicemen with self-defense weapons, with which they could, at close range, actually resist the attacking side armed with assault rifles. The second task is to eliminate the existing variety of types of self-defense weapons, so that the orderly, cook, driver and helicopter pilot use a single sample of self-defense weapons, which, moreover, has a similar device and principle of operation with the main army rifle G36. In this regard, NATO experts call the adoption of the PDW a "3: 1 decision", since the new weapon combines the properties of three types of small arms: a pistol, a submachine gun and an assault rifle.
In 2002, Heckler & Koch began creating a pistol in caliber 4, 6x30, known as the Ultimate Combat Pistole (UCP) civilian designation and the military designation P46. Together with the MP7, this pistol was to be part of the small arms complex chambered for 4, 6x30, like its Belgian counterpart. But until now, the military has not shown interest in the P46 and the further fate of the project remains in question. In the civilian market, the UCP (P46) also remained unclaimed, mainly due to its narrow specialization - the fight against manpower in personal body armor.
Unlike the pistol, the PDW MP7 claims a wider range of applications. In addition to military use, this weapon has aroused interest among VIP security services and bodyguards, for whom the possibility of concealed carry is especially attractive. Another of the possible areas of use of the PDW MP7 is the special police forces (according to the statements of German law enforcement officers, criminals in bulletproof vests are a new reality that has to be reckoned with today).
The equipment of the Bundeswehr PDW is proceeding at a low rate and in ordinary units it is still exotic. The first large batch of MP7A1 (434 copies) was delivered in 2003 and to date the total number in the troops is about 2,000. PDW is being tested in the DSO division, as part of the IdZ program. In particular, the MP7A1 received as a personal weapon the machine gunners of infantry squads armed with MG4 machine guns. Unlike the MG3, the new machine gun is operated by one person, so there was a need to equip the shooter with more serious self-defense weapons than the 9-mm pistol previously used for this purpose. The Bundeswehr military police equip their bodyguards with the PDW MP7A1. Of the special forces using the MP7A1, one can name the already mentioned KSK (60 copies were delivered in 2002), the Navy special forces, GSG-9 and the Hamburg police special forces. The MP7A1 has also become one of the means of dealing with the financial crisis. The purchase of a batch of 1000 PDW worth 3 million euros for the Bundeswehr is part of a program adopted in 2009 aimed at reviving the German economy.
Aroused PDW interest outside of Germany as well. In September 2003, the US Marine Corps conducted a comparative test of the MP7 and P90. For this purpose, the Americans purchased 12 MP7 units from Heckler & Koch, which were equipped with mufflers and were intended for testing by helicopter crews. During trials, pilots wore the PDW in a hip holster, and a separate muffler in the pocket of a life jacket. In 2003, the UK Department of Defense intended to acquire 15,000 such weapons, primarily for the police. British police use it in the MP7SF (Single Fire) semi-automatic variant. In May 2007, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense ordered 6,500 MP7A1s to replace 9mm submachine guns. In total, the MP7 is used by 17 countries; it is also adopted by the UN troops.
