Manufactured by Fabrique Nationale, one of the
top leading arms companies of Europe, the P90 is
FN's answer to
NATO's request for a compact Personal Defense Weapon system that
will defeat armored targets, which in the modern battlefield is becoming more proliferous. A bullpup design, the P90 boasts complete ambidexterity, with ambidexterous fire selector, magazine release, and downward casing ejection. Most
unique about the weapon is its 50-round magazine, mounted vertically parallel to the barrel, the cartridges are actually rotated 90 degrees in the magazine before entering the chamber. This round, the 5.7 x 28 mm (a necked-down 5.56 x 45mm), is being touted as the answer to kevlar-wearing opponents, being able to
pierce 48 layers of CRISAT from a range of 200 m. With a dual-composition steel/aluminum core, the 5.7
will tumble upon penetration of soft tissue, leaving
deep cavities up to 2-3 inches. Despite this, the relatively low muzzle energy and mass of the 5.7 round sometimes prove unreliable in terms stopping
power against unarmored targets, unlike the venerable .45 ACP, or even the 9 mm Parabellum.
