I talked recently about the FN (Fabrique Nationale d’Herstal) FiveseveN pistol and how it was designed in conjunction with the FN P90 which uses the same 5.7x28mm round.
Caliber : 5.7 x 28 mm
Weight (empty): 5.5lbs
Length: 19.7”
Barrel length: 10.4”
Cyclic rate of fire: 900 rpm
Practical rate of fire: 50 – 150 rpm
Magazine capacity: 50-30-10 round capacity
Sighting range: 150 m
Range of effective fire: 200 m
The P90 uses a unique “Top mounted longitudinal magazine” (patented by Rene Predazzer in March 6th 1990.) to give the shooter a compact bullpup design without the added length of a magazine hanging down off the weapon. With the magazine mounted on top of the gun it allows the magazine to span over half the length of the gun to carry up a 50 round magazine.
The weapon was designed for close quarters as a PDW and with police and military ability to fire body armor-piercing rounds it gives them a greater defensive close-combat weapon and allows them to clear a room faster without worrying about the length of the weapon they carry.
Since 2005, the P90 has also been offered to the civilian market as a semi-automatic sporting version with a longer barrel.