Heckler und Koch MP7

The MP7 is a submachine gun/machine pistol manufactured by Heckler und Koch.

Overview

The MP7 is classified as a personal defense weapon (PDW). It went into production in 2001. It is very compact and light, using mainly polymers in its construction.

The proliferation of high-quality body armor has begun to make guns that fire pistol ammunition (such as HK's earlier MP5 or USP) ineffective. In response to this trend, HK designed the MP7 to be powerful enough to penetrate body armor, but small enough to be used in place of either a pistol or a submachine gun.

The MP7 essentially operates like a scaled-down assault rifle, with the same action as HK's G36. It fires a specially designed, armor-piercing round with a muzzle velocity nearly as high as the 5.56 x 45 mm NATO round used by many modern rifles. This ammunition is unique among submachine guns in that the bullet is made almost entirely of a hardened steel penetrator instead of softer brass or lead. The ammunition is specific to the gun, and also offers low recoil.

The weapon allows for a conventional 20-round or 40-round box magazine to be fit within the pistol grip and it features an ambidextrous fire-select lever and rear cocking grip. It has an extendable stock and a folding front grip. It can be fired either one-handed or two-handed.

The MP7 is marketed as a direct competitor to the conceptually similar FN P90.

Like its predecessor, the MP5, the MP7 is beginning to feature in computer games such as the recent Half-Life 2.

Variants

The weapon features a full length top-mounted Picatinny rail and can fit additional rails on the sides of the barrel, which allow it to mount commercial optical sights, lasers, and tactical flashlights. The MP7 can also equip a suppressor.

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