Personal Defense Weapon - Applications

Applications

The PDW concept has not been widely successful, partly because PDWs are not significantly cheaper to manufacture than full size assault rifles. PDWs also usually use a special cartridge, such as the 5.7x28mm cartridge of the FN P90 or 4.6x30mm of the Heckler & Koch MP7, neither of which are compatible with existing pistols and rifles (outside of FN's proprietary Five-Seven pistol in the case of the P90's 5.7x28mm cartridge). A different take on the PDW concept is the Russian made PP-2000, which can fire the common 9x19mm Parabellum round or a special armor-piercing version to give it the same capabilities as other PDWs.

Though they have not become very popular for their intended application, personal defense weapons have been acquired by many special forces and law enforcement groups as direct replacements for submachine guns. FN's P90 personal defense weapon and PDW-caliber Five-seven pistol are used by military and police forces in over 40 countries throughout the world, such as Canada, Cyprus, France, Greece, India, Peru, Poland, Spain, and the United States. The Heckler & Koch MP7 personal defense weapon is also used in a number of countries, including Austria, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.

Like submachine guns, PDWs are small and light weapons, and their low recoil enables higher accuracy. Like assault rifles and carbines, PDWs can also penetrate body armor, while traditional pistol caliber submachine guns cannot. Assault rifles and carbines, by comparison, are generally heavier than either PDWs or submachine guns, have more severe muzzle blast and recoil, and are more likely to cause collateral damage due to overpenetration.