War and Military Atlas

How Battles Were Fought
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Weapons System

FN P90

Small Arms And Sidearms

The FN P90 is a Belgian personal defense weapon developed by the Fabrique Nationale de Herstal arms company and introduced in 1990, designed around a purpose-built small-caliber, high-velocity cartridge, the 5.7x28mm, intended to give vehicle crews, support personnel and other troops who do not carry a full-size rifle a compact weapon still capable of defeating body armor at moderate range, a niche the design's creators termed the personal defense weapon category. Its distinctive bullpup layout places the fifty-round magazine flat along the top of the weapon rather than beneath it, feeding rounds down into the action and allowing a compact overall length without sacrificing magazine capacity, while an ambidextrous ejection system lets the weapon be fired comfortably from either shoulder. The P90's futuristic, largely polymer construction and unconventional layout have made it a recognizable weapon in popular film and video games as well as genuine service use by NATO and other military, police and special-forces units around the world.

Facts
Classification
Caliber
5.7x28mm 1
Caliber
FN 5.7×28mm 2
Service Status
In Service 1
Weapon Class
Personal defense weapon (PDW) 1
Introduced Year
1990 1
Introduced Year
1991 2
Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category)
Rifle 1
FAQs

How does the FN P90 feed and eject its ammunition?

Rounds feed from a top-mounted magazine and spent cases drop out through a chute behind the grip.

The magazine lies along the top of the weapon and feeds from front to back. A helical ramp built into each magazine rotates the cartridge by 90 degrees before it reaches the feed lips, so the round lines up with the barrel. Spent cartridges are ejected straight down through a chute that exits just behind the pistol grip.
Connections

Operated By

Source MilitaryFactory.com: Fabrique Nationale FN P90
Source MilitaryFactory.com: Fabrique Nationale FN P90
Source MilitaryFactory.com: Fabrique Nationale FN P90
Source MilitaryFactory.com: Fabrique Nationale FN P90
Source MilitaryFactory.com: Fabrique Nationale FN P90

Used In

Iraq War, Wars
Source Wikipedia: FN P90
In the Other Atlases

Manufactured By

Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.

Source Wikidata: FN P90
Sources
1. Wikipedia: FN P90
Wikipedia
  • Lead section
    The FN P90 is a personal defense weapon
  • History section
    development of the weapon began in 1986, and production commenced in 1990, when it was known as the Project 9.0
  • service status
    The P90 is currently in service with military and police forces in over 40 nations, such as Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, India, Malaysia, Poland, and the United States
  • Weapon class classified from the entity's own sourced description text.
  • Infobox: cartridge
    FN 5.7×28mm
  • Infobox: service
    1990-present
  • Used In: Iraq War, infobox wars field: 'Iraq War'
View the Source
2. Wikidata: FN P90
Wikidata Q318588, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
MilitaryFactory.com: Fabrique Nationale FN P90
MilitaryFactory.com
  • Operated By: Argentine Armed Forces, Operators
    [ Austria; Argentina; Bangladesh; Belgium; Canada; Chile; Cyprus; France; Greece; Indonesia; India; Ireland; Italy; Lebanon; Malaysia; Mexico; Morocco; Netherlands; Pakistan; Panama; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Spain; Thailand; United Kingdom; United States ]
  • Operated By: Canadian Armed Forces, Operators
    [ Austria; Argentina; Bangladesh; Belgium; Canada; Chile; Cyprus; France; Greece; Indonesia; India; Ireland; Italy; Lebanon; Malaysia; Mexico; Morocco; Netherlands; Pakistan; Panama; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Spain; Thailand; United Kingdom; United States ]
  • Operated By: French Armed Forces, Operators
    [ Austria; Argentina; Bangladesh; Belgium; Canada; Chile; Cyprus; France; Greece; Indonesia; India; Ireland; Italy; Lebanon; Malaysia; Mexico; Morocco; Netherlands; Pakistan; Panama; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Spain; Thailand; United Kingdom; United States ]
  • Operated By: Mexican Armed Forces, Operators
    [ Austria; Argentina; Bangladesh; Belgium; Canada; Chile; Cyprus; France; Greece; Indonesia; India; Ireland; Italy; Lebanon; Malaysia; Mexico; Morocco; Netherlands; Pakistan; Panama; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Spain; Thailand; United Kingdom; United States ]
  • Operated By: Spanish Armed Forces, Operators
    [ Austria; Argentina; Bangladesh; Belgium; Canada; Chile; Cyprus; France; Greece; Indonesia; India; Ireland; Italy; Lebanon; Malaysia; Mexico; Morocco; Netherlands; Pakistan; Panama; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Spain; Thailand; United Kingdom; United States ]
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.