FNH unleashed a firestorm of controversy when it introduced the 5.7x28mm cartridge and the Five-seveN USG pistol.
By David Fortier
Photography: Emily Fortier
The antigun crowd has set out on yet another witch hunt as once again they're angrily calling for the banning of a firearm. Using stock terms like "no sporting purpose," "cop killer ammo," and "deadly military-style automatic weapon," they've climbed back up onto their soapboxes to enact a ban on one particular firearm. I wondered what firearm could be so evil that we had to run right out and send them all to the bottom of the ocean.
The current target is a .22-caliber centerfire pistol manufactured by the well-respected firm Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre-Herstal. Dubbed the Five-seveN, it chambers a small-caliber high-velocity cartridge called the 5.7x28mm. It's actually this cartridge, rather than the pistol itself, that is at the heart of the controversy. Intrigued by what all the hoopla was about, I decided to take an in-depth look at FN, the proprietary 5.7x28mm cartridge, and the Five-seveN pistol that chambers it.
I figured the best place to start was at Fabrique Nationale, so I boarded a plane to Belgium. For those of you unfamiliar with this Belgian company, FN has long played a major role in the development and evolution of significant military small arms. It is the home of the P35 Hi-Power pistol, FAL rifle, MAG GPMG and Minimi light machinegun. It was here that John Moses Browning made his home. Standing in his office, I could not help but be moved while contemplating the work accomplished there. Looking at this company's past, it's interesting to note that its firearms have always stood against tyrants bent on conquest. Today is no different as American troops fight the good fight wielding M249 SAWs and M240 GPMGs built by FN.
Philippe Claessens, the managing director of FN-Herstal, took time from his busy schedule to meet with me when I arrived. During our conversation he shed some light on the recent past and where FN is headed today. With the end of the Cold War FN's management resized and reshaped the company to make it more efficient. Today FN employs 1000 employees in Belgium. At the same time the company has invested 80 million Euros modernizing and rebuilding the facility in Herstal to streamline production. Understanding the importance of research and development (R&D) FN also began allotting five to six percent of its budget (it takes in approximately 450 million Euros a year) to R&D.
The 5.7x28mm Cartridge
One project stemming from FN's R&D work is the Five-seveN pistol and its 5.7x28mm cartridge. Beginning in the late 1980s FN concluded that with the proliferation of body armor NATO's 9x19mm firearms were rapidly becoming obsolete. In 1990 NATO recognized this threat and officially began looking into replacing 9x19mm arms with a new Personal Defense Weapon (PDW) system that would be capable of penetrating body armor and would be issued to personnel who did not need a regular rifle.
But what could replace the 9x19mm NATO? When it comes to penetrating armor there are several methods that work. The simplest is to merely drive a very small diameter projectile at high velocity. And this is what FN did. The result is a small bottleneck cartridge with a 28mm-long case topped with a .224-inch diameter projectile. The standard military/LE SS190 ball loading features a 31-grain FMJBT. The cartridge's overall length is 40.5mm, and it weighs half what a 9x19mm cartridge does.
To cut through body armor the .224-inch-diameter SS190 projectile incorporates a cone-shaped steel penetrator sitting atop an aluminum core surrounded by a steel jacket. Velocity of the 5.7x28mm SS190 ball load from a P90 PDW's 10.2-inch barrel is a respectable 2346 fps. Out of a Five-seveN pistol with 4.8-inch barrel it clocks 2133 fps. Despite the high muzzle velocity recoil is approximately 30 percent less than the 9x19mm. This 5.7x28mm load was specifically designed to defeat a NATO CRISAT target (consisting of a 1.6mm titanium plate with 20 Kevlar folds), and it will--even at 200 meters.
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