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Manufacturer: Fabrique National SA, Herstal
Caliber: 5.7x28mm
Length: 19.69in (500mm)
Weight Unloaded: 5lb 10oz (2.54kg)
Barrel: 10.35in (263mm), 6 grooves, right hand twist
Magazine: 50rd detachable box
Muzzle velocity: ~2346ft/sec (715m/sec)
Cyclic Rate: 900rpm
Modes of Fire: Semi auto, fully automatic
Fabrique Nationale's P90 submachine gun is another attempt to solve the problem of what to arm those soldiers who did not primarily fight. The weapon itself came about as a result of NATO becoming concerned that 9x19 pistols and submachine guns would not be able to penetrate the body armor that would soon be in widespread issue on future battlefields. Thus, they issued a request for gun designers to design a weapon that would be small, compact, and have enough punch to be able to penetrate armor out to 150 meters. Only two manufacters stepped up to the challenge: Giat, of France, and FN. The design started in 1990, but FN ran into financial problems. Giat picked up FN, and abandoned their own project, which was not coming along as well as FN's. Indeed, FN by that time had both working prototypes of a submachine gun and a pistol, both chambered for their unique 5.7x28 round.
The FN P90 is a very good blend of hit probability, firepower, and compactness that caters very well not only to clerks and cooks, but to special operations teams and police tactical teams. The weapon is very compact and ergonomically designed, and appears to be aimed at taking on the same market that Heckler and Koch's MP5 and Colt's M4 carbine have cornered. The weapon is only 19.69 inches long, shorter and more compact than H&K's MP5, thanks to its bullpup layout. Even with its 50rd magazine fully loaded, the P90 still weighs about the same as a MP5 with only 30 rounds loaded. Despite its small size, the P90 can penetrate soft armor like a M4 carbine, being able to penetrate 48 layers of Kevlar at 200 meters (a Level IIIA vest is usually only 28 layers of Kevlar - click here to read more on body armor). The P90 is fully ambidexterous. A cocking handle, magazine release, and backup iron sights are on each side of the weapon. The selector switch is located neatly below the trigger. The body of the weapon itself, along with the grips, are symetrical. The P90 ejects spent casings straight down, which eliminates the need to block off a ejection port, like on the AUG and virtually every other bullpup weapon out there.
The P90 is blowback operated, and fires from the closed bolt. The P90's selector switch is capable of being set to either safe, semi-automatic, or fully automatic. The switch itself is a rotary dial located directly below the trigger. The full-auto setting works similar to the AUG's. Pulling back only partially on the trigger still allows for single shots to be fired. Pulling back all the way will let the weapon go fully automatic, thus allowing the user to fire exactly as many rounds as needed. Due to the rapid rate of fire (900rpm), bursts of three to four shots are possible when the trigger is pulled and released in fully automatic. The P90 is very controllable in fully-automatic fire, due both to the excellent ergonomics of the weapon, and to the low recoil impulse of the 5.7 round (about 1/3 that of a 5.56x45 round, and about 2/3 that of a 9x19 round). In a 50 round full-automatic burst, the weapon does not climb upwards, but rather seems to float around the point of aim, even in novice hands. Demonstrations held by FN have had a 50rd burst held in a circle no more than 9 inches at 50 yards. The magazine empties in 3.3 seconds in fully automatic. In semi-automatic mode, groups of about 3-4 inches are possible at 50 yards, and 6-7 inches at 100 yards.
The P90 has an integral reflex sight, located in the odd 'carry handle' shaped structure above the muzzle. The unit is nonmagnifying (which means that secondary fire in Counter-Strike should NOT allow the P90 to zoom in), and is made of a single piece of glass, which prevents fogging. In case the glass somehow breaks, emergency iron sights are fitted for backup. There are two different reticles, one for daytime shooting, and one for nighttime shooting. The day reticle is made up of a large circle for close range, fast target aquisition, with a smaller dot in the center for long range precision shooting. The low-light reticle is illuminated by tritium, and is normally invisible in daylight conditions. However, in lighting conditions where both reticules are visible, the view is still clear enough to provide for fast, accurate targeting.
There are four different versions of the P90 available. First is the standard P90, the P90STD. There is also a semi-automatic only version for sale to police agencies that do not want to go through the political and training hassles of owning fully-automatic weapons. The third version is the P90 LV, which stands for Laser Visible. This version has a laser sight incorporated into the weapon. The projector itself is built onto the 'lip' on the foreward grip that also prevents the user's hands from straying in front of the muzzle. The switch for the laser is built onto the grip for the shooting hand. The laser is completely integrated with the body of the P90. The laser can project a red dot, with a high visibility, high power consumption setting for daylight, or a low visibility, low power consumption setting for darkness. The laser is also capable of projecting an infra-red dot that requires night vision to see. Finally, the fourth version of the P90 is the P90 TR, which stands for triple rail. The optical sight is removed, and in its place is a Picatinny rail. A Picatinny rail is also fitted to the left and the right side of the reciever. These rails allow the use of Sure-Fire flashlights and other accessories with the P90. The version in Counter Strike appears to be the P90 STD. All versions are capable of being suppressed with a specially made suppressor.
However, for all of the P90's upsides, there are a few downsides to it. It is widely reported that the P90 may jam if it is roughly handled. However, this may be a misinterpretation of the fact that the P90 locks itself if it is dropped, thereby preventing itself from accidentally discharging, a cause of many casualties in combat. It is also reported that the P90's magazines tend to spew rounds everywhere if it is dropped or banged against a wall. If these allegations are true, then the P90 may not have a place in actual battlefield combat, and may have to be handled very gently indeed in police actions. There are also concerns about the actual wounding capabilities of the 5.7 round. Although some had initially reported it to be as harmful as a 5.56 cartridge, more recent laboratory tests seem to indicate that the 5.7 performs in ballistic gelatin similar to a 9x19 115gr round. I'm currently trying to find data, so check back for more information. All of these allegations are, however, not confirmed. The P90 is still too new to the world for it to have been throughly combat-tested. As more information becomes available, I shall report it.
In real life, the P90 is a very accurate weapon. In CS, the weapon sprays rounds indiscriminately. When the P90 was first introduced to CS, it was as accurate as its real-life counterpart. However, the P90 quickly became a whore weapon, with virtually every single kill on every single server coming from the ultra-accurate, very powerful, and pretty cheap weapon. So in the interest of balance, the P90's price was increased and its accuracy lowered. I feel that its accuracy should be increased, but its damage lowered - perhaps to about 19 hp per hit against an unarmored torso, and about 18 hp per hit against an armored torso, to reflect the armor-piercing capability of the P90. In CS, the P90 suffers quite a bit more than it should when firing against an armored target.
