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One area of weapons development that has seen a lot of new, but generally unnoticed, developments in the past decade is the PDW (Personal Defense Weapon, or pistol replacement). One recent example is the Rock River Arms PPS (Performance Piston System) Pistol. This is a 5.56mm weapon that uses a new internal design. It has a short gas piston, with the recoil spring and guide rod over the 21cm (8 inch) barrel. The entire weapon (which does not have a stock) is 44.5cm (17.5 inches) long and weighs 2.2 kg (5 pounds). There are single shot and full automatic versions,...

H&K MP7 PDW Personal defense weapons (PDWs) have been of military interest for some time. The United States issued a PDW requirement several years ago, but never brought it to a solicitation. Britain’s Ministry of Defense, however, declared its intent to purchase some 15,000 PDWs between 2003 and 2005. There has been no final action on this solicitation and like the American requirement it now appears dormant. H&K’s MP7 was clearly in anticipation of the UK requirement and others that might potentially follow, although PDWs as a class of small arm have yet to be adopted by any military service....

The folding stock on the MP7 permits shoulder firing for better accuracy. The handgun is also ambidextrous, with all controls, including the M16- style cocking handle, safety/selector lever, magazine release, and bolt-catch release accessible by the user’s right and left hand. A new handgun has reignited the debate over which type of bullet is best: small and fast, or big, heavy, and therefore, slower. The MP7 personal defense weapon (PDW) seems to embody the small and fast paradigm. De-vised by Heckler & Koch Inc., (www.heck-lerkoch- usa.com), it fires a 4.6 30-mm round (equivalent to .18 caliber) weighing about 26 grains....