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Heckler & Koch MP7
MP7A1 REMOV
An MP7A1 with a suppressor, extended magazine, and a reflex sight.
Type
Place of origin Flag of Germany Germany
Service history
Used by 10+ countries (see Users)
Wars
Production history
Manufacturer Heckler & Koch
Produced 2001–present
Specifications
Mass
  • 1.2 kg (2.65 lb) with 20 round empty magazine (PDW)[1]
  • 1.9 kg (4.19 lb) without magazine (MP7A1)[2]
Length 638 mm (25.1 in) stock extended / 415 mm (16.3 in) stock collapsed[3]
Barrel length 180 mm (7.1 in)[4]
Width 51 mm (2.0 in)[3]
Height 169.5 mm (6.7 in)[3]

Cartridge HK 4.6×30mm
Action Gas-operated, short stroke piston, rotating bolt
Rate of fire 950 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity 735 m/s (2,411 ft/s) (Fiocchi CPS Black Tip ammunition)
Effective firing range 200 m (656 ft)[5][6][7]
Feed system 20, 30 or 40 round box magazine
Sights Tritium-illuminated flip-up night sights; handgun and rifle sights (adjustable)

The MP7 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 defeat 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 version is the MP7A1.[8]

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, but small enough to be used in place of either a pistol or a submachine gun.[8][9]

Design details[]

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.[10] The 4.6x30mm ammunition is virtually exclusive to the gun (save for the now cancelled Heckler & Koch UCP and a planned variant of the Brügger & Thomet MP9) and also offers low recoil.[11] 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 weapon allows a conventional 20-round, 30-round, or 40-round box magazine to be fit within the pistol grip (the 20-round magazine being comparable in size to a 15-round 9mm magazine, while the 40-round magazine compares to a 30-round 9 mm magazine). The weapon 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] It is compact and light, due to the use of polymers in its construction.

Ammunition[]

Idz

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

The MP7's specially designed armour piercing (AP) high velocity rounds allow copper plated solid steel projectile (DM11), alloy plated steel jacket projectile (DM21) or copper alloy jacketed lead core projectile (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), which is nearly as high as that of a .223 Remington round, and has a muzzle energy of 506 J (373 ft-lbf).[12] The DM11 round penetrates the NATO CRISAT target (20 layers of kevlar with 1.6 mm titanium backing) even at 200 m.[13] The round has a small diameter, allowing for redoubling penetration capability and high capacity in a very small magazine.[14]

VBR of Belgium produces a 4.6x30mm 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][15] 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 9x19mm Parabellum rounds.[16][17]

Variants[]

  • PDW: The first prototype shown in 1999 was designated the 'PDW' (Personal Defence 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]
  • MP7-SF: Semi-automatic only variant of MP7. Currently used by Ministry of Defence Police in United Kingdom.

Accessories[]

BundeswehrMP7

A recent production MP7A1 (note the safety trigger) with a Zeiss RSA reflex red dot sight and LLM01 laser light module on display as part of Germany's IdZ program.[18] and LLM01 laser light module.

The weapon 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 simple 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. The MP7 can also accept a suppressor. The tailor-made suppressor for the MP7 does not interfere with its accuracy or rate of fire.

Users[]

Country Organization name Model Quantity Date Reference
Flag of Albania Albania Reparti i Neutralizimit të Elementit të Armatosur (RENEA) of the Albanian Police _ _ _ [19]
Flag of Australia Australia Western Australia Department of Corrective Services – Emergency Support Group _ _ _ [20]
Flag of Austria Austria Einsatzkommando Cobra (EKO Cobra) of the Austrian Federal Ministry for the Interior _ _ _ [21]
Flag of Croatia Croatia Special Operations Battalion (Croatia) _ 25 2004 [22]
Flag of France France French special forcesDGSE SAGIGN MP7A1 _ _ [23][24]
Flag of Germany Germany German Army MP7A1 _ _ [8][25]
Grenzschutzgruppe 9 (GSG 9) counter-terrorism group of the German Federal Police _ _ [26]
SEK SWAT police unit (state police) of several German states _ _ _ [27]
Flag of Indonesia Indonesia Kopassus _ _ _ [28]
Flag of Ireland Ireland Regional Support Unit and Emergency Response Unit of the Garda Síochána _ _ _ [8][29]
Flag of Italy Italy 9th Parachute Assault Regiment _ _ _ [citation needed]
Flag of Japan Japan Japanese Special Forces Group _ _ _ [30]
Flag of Jordan Jordan _ _ _ _ [31]
Flag of Malaysia Malaysia Pasukan Gerakan Khas (PGK) counter-terrorism divisions of the Royal Malaysia Police MP7A1 _ 2007 [8]
Flag of Norway Norway Norwegian Armed Forces MP7A1 6,500 2007 [8][32]
Flag of Oman Oman _ _ _ [31]
Flag of South Korea Republic of Korea Republic of Korea Army 707th Special Mission Battalion _ _ _ [14]
Republic of Korea National Police Agency SWAT _ _ [8]
Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom Ministry of Defence Police MP7-SF _ _ [8][33]
United States United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group _ _ _ [34]
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety in California MP7A1 _ _ [35][36]

Gallery[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. "HKPro, PDW article". Hkpro.com. http://www.hkpro.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88:mp7&catid=9:the-submachine-guns&Itemid=5. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  2. "Heckler-Koch, Products, MP7A1". Hkd-usa.com. http://www.hkd-usa.com/HKWebText/detailPara/1926/81/4/20/257. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Heckler-Koch, Products, MP7A1". Heckler-koch.com. http://www.heckler-koch.com/en/products/submachine-guns/mp7a1/mp7a1/technical-data.html. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  4. "Famous Guns, Heckler and Koch MP7: the Replacement for HK MP5". Famous-guns.com. 2007-09-09. http://www.famous-guns.com/mp7-replace-mp5/. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  5. "HKPro". HKPro. http://www.hkpro.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88:mp7&catid=9:the-submachine-guns&Itemid=5. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  6. "Heckler and Koch MP7: the Replacement for HK MP5". Famous-guns.com. 2007-09-09. http://www.famous-guns.com/mp7-replace-mp5/. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  7. EnemyForces.com. "Enemy Forces, Heckler & Koch MP7". Enemyforces.net. http://www.enemyforces.net/firearms/mp7.htm. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  8. 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 "HK MP7A1". Guns Lot. December 13, 2007. http://www.gunslot.com/guns/hk-mp7a1. Retrieved 2011-08-22. 
  9. "Heckler & Koch – Group Website". Heckler-koch.de. http://www.heckler-koch.de/HKWebText/detailProd/1926/81/4/20. Retrieved 2010-08-16. 
  10. Cutshaw, Charles Q. (2003). "Heckler & Koch's cutting-edge compacts G36C and MP7 PDW: when less really is more". Guns Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. https://archive.is/Lurc. 
  11. "HK MP7A1". Guns Lot. http://www.gunslot.com/guns/hk-mp7a1. Retrieved January 3, 2012. 
  12. "HK MP7A1 Ammunition". http://www.heckler-koch.com/en/products/submachine-guns/mp7a1/mp7a1/overview.html. Retrieved 1 February 2012. 
  13. "Heckler-Koch, Products, MP7A1". Heckler-koch.com. http://www.heckler-koch.com/en/products/submachine-guns/mp7a1/mp7a1/overview.html. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 "Modern Firearms – Heckler – Koch HK MP7 personal defense weapon (PDW)". World.guns.ru. http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg49-e.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-16. 
  15. "The 4.6x30 mm B2F cartridge". Fsdip.com. http://www.fsdip.com/website/The46x30mmB2Fcartridge/tabid/405/Default.aspx. Retrieved 2010-08-16. 
  16. "Heckler & Koch – Group Website". Heckler-koch.de. http://www.heckler-koch.de/HKWebText/detailPara/1926/81/4/20/257. Retrieved 2010-08-16. 
  17. "Modern Firearms – ammunition for submachine guns and handguns: semi-automatic and automatic pistols". World.guns.ru. http://world.guns.ru/ammo/am_pistol-e.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-16. 
  18. "Zeiss RSA-S Reflex Sight". Zeiss.com. http://www.zeiss.com/C1257088004A21CA/Contents-Frame/521382359A5D46B9C12570BC002C5996. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  19. "Youtube, the video "hk in albania"". Youtube.com. 2007-12-26. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pomD16sAV5s. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  20. "WAtoday, Armour-piercing bullets ordered for WA prisons". Watoday.com.au. 2009-09-07. http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/armourpiercing-bullets-ordered-for-wa-prisons-20090904-fazx.html. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  21. "COBRA: Austria's Special Police Commandos" (PDF). http://www.bmi.gv.at/cms/BMI_EKO_Cobra/publikationen/files/LawOrder.pdf. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  22. "Heckler & Koch: Tvornica od koje Hrvatska vojska i policija kupuju puške i bacače". http://www.jutarnji.hr/heckler--amp--koch--tvornica-od-koje-hrvatska-vojska-i-policija-kupuju-puske-i-bacace/162060/. Retrieved 2006-11-13. 
  23. "Somalia - Dead french elite soldier". http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8ba_1358192705. Retrieved 2013-01-14. 
  24. "Al-Shabab militants in Somalia post alleged photo of French commando killed in botched raid". 14 October 2012. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57563817/al-shabab-militants-in-somalia-post-alleged-photo-of-french-commando-killed-in-botched-raid/. Retrieved 15 October 2011. 
  25. Gourley, S.; Kemp, I (November 26, 2003). "The Duellists". Jane's Defence Weekly (ISSN: 02653818), Volume 40 Issue 21, pp 26–28.
  26. "АРСЕНАЛ: ОРУЖИЕ НЕМЕЦКОГО СПЕЦНАЗА (Arsenal: Weapons of the German Special Forces)" (in Russian). Bratishka. http://www.bratishka.ru/archiv/2009/9/2009_9_9.php. Retrieved 2010-03-18. 
  27. "photo of the SEK of Lower Saxony" (in German). ?. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. https://archive.is/lVZF. Retrieved 2011-12-11. 
  28. http://tniad.mil.id/index.php/arsipberita/wamenhan-ri-berkunjung-ke-stand-kopassus
  29. Tom Brady (2008-09-04). "Quick-change armed gardai hit the streets — National News, Frontpage". Independent.ie. http://www.independent.ie/national-news/quickchange-armed-gardai-hit-the-streets-1468916.html. Retrieved 2009-09-14. 
  30. "陸上自衛隊唯一の特殊部隊 特殊作戦群の解説" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2012-11-28. http://www.webcitation.org/6CWqH9jnF. Retrieved 2012-11-28. 
  31. 31.0 31.1 Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  32. Skagemo, Leif Inge (2007-06-05). "En liten røver med trøkk i" (in Norwegian). Hæren. Forsvarsnett. http://www.mil.no/haren/start/article.jhtml?articleID=141475. 
  33. Steven Partridge. "A Modern Weapon for a Modern Role". http://www.publicservice.co.uk/pdf/dmj/issue28/DMJ28%200402%20S%20Partridge.pdf. Retrieved 2009-09-22. 
  34. Nicholas Schmidle (2011-08-08). "Getting Bin Laden: What happened that night in Abbottabad — New Yorker". http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/08/110808fa_fact_schmidle. Retrieved 2011-08-01. 
  35. "Cupertino cement plant shooting". 6 October 2011. http://extras.mercurynews.com/slideshows/news/2011/10/cupertinoShoot1005/. Retrieved 6 October 2011. 
  36. "Cupertino cement plant shooting". 6 October 2011. http://extras.mercurynews.com/slideshows/news/2011/10/cupertinoShoot1005/600_450/ssjm1007allman08gr.jpg. Retrieved 6 October 2011. 

External links[]


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