MP7

Lore & Background

It was designed (together with the new cartridge) to meet NATO requirements published in 1989, which called for an SMG-type weapon with a greater capacity to defeat Kevlar body armor (versus pre-existing submachine guns using conventional pistol cartridges such as the .45 ACP and 9×19mm Parabellum). The MP7 went into production in 2001, and is a direct rival to the FN P90, also developed in response to NATO's requirement by Belgian company FN Herstal. The weapon has been revised since its introduction and the latest production variants are the MP7A1 and MP7A2. Exact production numbers for the HK MP7 are not publicly available.

In Their Own Story

The server hummed at 128 ticks. Round fourteen. Eco. The team-chat was three words: 'MP7. Push. Now.'

She felt the polymer grip settle into her palm, the 30-round magazine already loaded, the selector already on full-auto. The utility had bought her four seconds—smokes stacking on B-site, a flash peeling the corner. Four seconds was all she needed.

She rounded the corner and the world became a white-hot burst of muzzle flash and the MP7's staccato bark. Three, four, five rounds into the chest of the man who thought he had the angle. He dropped. The second one was behind the crate, and she didn't stop spraying; she just shifted her crosshair two inches left and let the pattern do its work.

The kill-feed lit up. The economy ticked over. And in the quiet after the last round clanked to the floor, she reloaded, listened to the server breathe, and waited for the next round to start.

Reader's Guide

The MP7 utilizes a short-stroke piston gas system as is used on H&K's G36 and HK416 in place of a blowback system traditionally seen on submachine guns. The 4.6×30mm ammunition is exclusive to the gun and offers low recoil. 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 MP7 has a cyclic rate of fire of around 950 rounds per minute (which is around 15.8 rounds per second). The MP7 allows a conventional 20, 30 or 40-round box magazine to be fitted within the pistol grip (the 20-round magazine is comparable in size to a 15-round 9×19mm magazine, while the 40-round magazine compares to a 30-round 9×19mm magazine). It features an ambidextrous fire selector, bolt catch lever and magazine release. It has an extendable stock and a folding front grip (MP7 and MP7A1 variants, the MP7A2 lacks the folding front grip); it can be fired either one-handed or two-handed. It is compact and light, due to the use of polymers in its construction. The MP7's specially designed armor piercing (AP) high-velocity rounds consist of either copper-plated solid steel (DM11), alloy-plated steel jacket (DM21) or copper-alloy-jacketed lead core projectiles (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) and a muzzle energy of 506 J (373 ft-lb). The DM11 round penetrates the NATO CRISAT target (20 layers of Kevlar with 1.6 mm titanium backing) at 200 m. The round has a small diameter, allowing for redoubling penetration capability and high capacity in a very small magazine. VBR of Belgium produces a 4.6×30mm two-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. 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 9×19mm Parabellum rounds. The MP7 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 Patridge style open sights. Folded up, they feature aperture sights. The sights can easily be removed by loosening a single screw and lifting them off. Besides iron sights, other

Did You Know?

• The MP7 was designed to meet NATO requirements published in 1989 for an SMG-type weapon with greater ability to defeat Kevlar body armor.
• The MP7 went into production in 2001 and is a direct rival to the FN P90.
• The MP7's 4.6×30mm ammunition is unique among submachine guns in that the bullet is made almost entirely of a hardened steel penetrator.
• The standard DM11 round has a muzzle energy of 506 J, not 475 J as sometimes claimed.