Two Notable New Military Small Arms - Trends in Small Arms and Light Weapons Development: Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Dimensions

Two Notable New Military Small Arms - Trends in Small Arms and Light Weapons Development: Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Dimensions

Two Notable New Military Small Arms
As mentioned previously, two newly developed small arms (together with their ammunition) appear to offer unique enhanced effectiveness and/or lethality. These are the H&K G11 (firing 4.73 x 33 mm caseless ammunition) and the FN P 90 (firing the small caliber 5.7 x 28 mm ammunition). These bullpup-design small arms have characteristics that warrant a more detailed examination of their capabilities.

...

FNP 90.56 The characteristics of the FN 5.7 x 28 mm P 90 personal defence weapon system make it more properly akin to a sub-machine gun than an assault rifle. The weapon is ultra-modern, easy to maintain, very light, and reliable. It can be equipped with a laser target designator as well as a wide variety of day and night sights. It has a standard integrated optical sight with no magnification. Like the G 11, its most significant characteristic is its ammunition. The development of this cartridge reflects NATO concerns that the 9 x 19 mm ball ammunition used in most handguns and sub-machine guns possesses insufficient power for the battlefield of the 21st century, where various types of body armour will be commonplace. Designed to provide (according to FN literature) substantially more lethality than the 9 mm round it is designed to replace, it also weighs less that 50 per cent of the latter round. Thus, like the G-11 caseless, a soldier can carry many more cartridges than before. It should be noted that the maximum effective range of this weapon is listed as 200 metres, less than the 300 to 600 metres of most assault rifles and the 1,000 metres of other rifles, but better than any pistol and most sub-machine guns. Of further significance is the fact that a pistol (the five-seven, with a twenty round magazine) has also been developed for the same round.

The SS190 5.7 mm round (it is actually the same bore size as the NATO 5.56 mm round but has a much shorter cartridge case – 28 mm versus 45 mm) is made in full metal jacket (ball), tracer, subsonic and blank forms. It is advertised as capable of creating a larger wound cavity in Fackler gelatin (5 cm by 30 cm) than either the 9 mm jacketed round ( 3 cm with over penetration) or the 9 mm hollow point (4 cm by 40 cm variable penetration).57 Because it transfers most of its energy to the target, it is less likely to exit a target and strike something else. In comparison with the 9 mm FMJ round, it is also advertised as being less susceptible to ricochet and, with a shorter range lethality, less susceptible to creating casualties beyond the range of the intended target. These characteristics make it particularly attractive to military special operations units and police tactical units. In addition, the 5.7 x 28 mm round fired from a P 90 can penetrate 48 plies of kelvar body armour at 200 metres. The characteristics of the round when fired from the five-seven pistol are equivalent but with relative shorter ranges.

The P 90 and its ammunition is in production only in Belgium58 and is believed to be in the inventory of Saudi Arabia's Special Forces, together with some Far Eastern states. Several police forces in Europe are also armed with the P 90. It is priced at approximately US $950, with the price of ammunition at about 30 cents a round. It should be noted that this small arm is being actively marketed for police forces and internal security force organizations. While it generally appears to meet new NATO specifications for a replacement round for the 9 mm, its adaptation is far from assured. This is due in large part to the fact that many states still use the 9 mm and the replacement of these weapons solely for the purpose of standardization would be an expensive proposition (again, a similar problem as regards the G 11, 4.73 mm caseless ammunition).

From a SALW control perspective the ammunition is a matter for some concern (particularly from the law enforcement perspective) due to its ability to penetrate police protective gear. From a civilian stand point, if the wound ballistics are indeed more devastating than other rounds, then there may be a likelihood of more fatalities. Whether or not in a case such as Rwanda or even the Balkans there would have been more fatalities if such ammunition was in wide use is difficult to determine. While it would not be too difficult to legally ban the ammunition and the firearms capable of chambering such a round to civilians,59 this does not mitigate its effect and potential misuse by government authorities – be they law enforcement officials or military units. The requirements of police forces and the need to penetrate body armour (whether military or that worn by criminals) presents a conundrum for those who believe the round could cause unnecessary wound effects and concomitant suffering.

...

56 Paul Tweedale, the Canadian FN Herstal representative provided much of the information contained herein and was forthright in answering all questions. The author was permitted to handle and fire both the P 90 and the Five-seven pistol. Additional views and collateral information on the P 90 were obtained from: Jane's Infantry Weapons, p. 88, and from http://www.remtek.com/arms/fn/p90/index.htm.

57 Note that the 9 mm hollow point would be banned under the "rules of war" but the 5.7 mm jacketed ammunition would not – even though the wound ballistics would appear to be potentially more traumatic. Thus, if all police forces adopted this round they would be in compliance with the international rules of war. At least one senior police force official believes that the wounding capacity of the round is insufficient.

58 The simplicity of the P 90 and the fact that its ammunition is essentially a 5.56 mm bullet in a different casing suggests that both could easily be manufactured in any country currently capable of producing SALW and ammunition. FN Herstal have noted that "the SS190 can be manufactured on existing production lines".

59 The ammunition is banned for civilian use under the Criminal Code of Canada as of December 1998.