A firearm issued for personal use by a soldier, typically an assault rifle for enlisted personnel or on occasion a pistol for comissioned officers.

"keep you personal weapon within reach at all times"
by eighthofseven October 26, 2007
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A class of compact firearms, essentially hybrids between Assault Rifles and Sub-Machine Guns. Designed to be both small and light so they can be carried by Non-combatant Personnel, but still have the capability to penetrate modern ballistic body armour. This is usually achieved by utilising special cartridges, such as the 5.7x28mm FN or the 4.6x30mm HK. Very effective in Close Quarter Combat, this class of firearms has been adopted by several Special Forces, Law Enforcement Agencies and Counter-Terrorist Units.

Notable examples include the FN P90, the HK MP7, the PDW Version of the FN SCAR and the AAC Honey Badger.
...so then these Paratroopers went for our Supply Personnel, assuming that they were easy bait. But luckily, they were equipped with Personal Defence Weapons and managed to hold them back until combatant units were on place.
by Ashirg April 16, 2020
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