SEAL Team 6 Loves The MP7

BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 9 months ago

Business Insider:

Looking almost like an oversized pistol, the Heckler & Koch MP7 is a cross between a submachine gun and a carbine that serves around the world in the hands of law enforcement and special operations units.

In the late 1980s, NATO developed requirements for a next-generation personal defense weapon that would be more effective against body armor than current pistol-caliber PDWs.

While submachine guns based on the .45 ACP or 9mm deliver plenty of stopping power against unarmored targets, the growing availability of capable and affordable body armor meant that something new was needed.

So German gunmaker Heckler & Koch developed the MP7 to meet these NATO requirements and it has served across the world since entering full production in 2001.

Some of the most commonly-spotted submachine guns in the hands of law enforcement and other professionals are the MP5 and its successor, the UMP. These guns typify the classic submachine gun, being automatic weapons chambered for pistol cartridges.

The MP7, however, is chambered for the 4.6x30mm cartridge. The steel core 4.6x30mm was developed specifically to be a lightweight pistol-ish round delivering the penetration more like a rifle cartridge. The smaller, lighter round means that more ammunition can be carried and that it has a minimal recoil even in full-automatic shooting.

The 4.6mm cartridge was developed by HK for the MP7 and its companion sidearm, the UCP pistol. The UCP never got past the prototype stage, but the 4.6x30mm has definitely made its mark in the MP7.

The MP7, currently being produced as updated models MP7A1 and MP7A2, weighs less than 5 pounds with a loaded magazine and is only 25-inches long with its adjustable stock fully extended. The barrel is 7.1 inches long and the magazine feeds into the pistol grip, creating a compact, easy to handle package.

The action is a gas-operated short stroke piston like that of HK’s HK416 rifle and is rated at 950 rounds per minute.

From the Business Insider article, several SEAL Team 6 members, some of whom are carrying MP7s.

This is a curious article and a curious revelation.  That’s all I can say about it.  Well, not really.

I recall having had discussions with Kevin O’Brien (WeaponsMan) before he passed away, and he once remarked to me in a rather puzzled way how SpecOps was now using shorter and shorter barrels, even much less than 10″.  It’s a strange development, frankly.

In this case not only have they chosen a PDW for warfighting, they have chosen a smaller caliber than the 5.56 mm.  If you look at the data for this round, it doesn’t send bullets down range at anything close to the 5.56 mm, and seems to me to basically be a knockoff of the 5.7 X 28, which I shoot with the FN 5.7.  In fact, the technology doesn’t advance the round itself beyond the 5.7 in the least, and the weapon itself seems rather pedestrian if you don’t consider the fully automatic capability.

Regarding the high rate of fire, I don’t see it gaining the shooter any advantage since it would only be used for area suppression, and besides that, the shooter would have to carry a lot more ammunition in order to make full use of the rate of fire.

Also, selection of this weapon for continual use, or even just one specific mission, assumes that the only gun fight in which you’ll find yourself will be CQB.  I don’t think anyone can predict the future this way, and I would rather be prepared for other exigencies with selection of a weapon that can fill a number of roles like the 5.56 mm carbine.

Regarding ammunition availability, where I am there is plenty of 5.7 X 28, and I suspect that no one else within 500 miles of such a gun fight would have access to 4.6 X 30.  I simply wouldn’t want to deploy even on a single mission with an ammunition type that was unique to me.

Finally, it just seems to me based on what I’ve seen over the last several years that the U.S. Army is hell bent on singlehandedly keeping H&K in business, but just over an hour down the road from me is an FN plant with mechanics, gunsmiths and designers who could have delivered a nicer firearm to the Navy shooting 5.7 X 28, a more capable round, where the dollars would have stayed in the U.S. and the weapons would have been American-made.

I’m not impressed at this love for H&K.  Anyway, remember that H&K hates you and thinks you suck.


Comments

  1. On June 21, 2017 at 9:12 am, Old Bill said:

    I don’t know this to be the case here, but the Seals are no more proof against fad than any other group of people; perhaps less so. This H&K may just be the Flavor-of-the-Month to show how SPECIAL they really are. Such childishness does not characterize the organization (or it’s individual members) but it does happen.
    Also consider; anyone willing to consider outside-the-box ideas will occasionally be seen doing some pretty weird stuff. Those guys have a pretty serious stake in the game they’re playing, so they my well have reasons for the (apparent) madness.

  2. On June 21, 2017 at 11:15 am, Jack said:

    The 4.6×30 w/31 grain projectile flies between 2200 and 2300ft/sec and weighs 6.5 grams. It’s claimed to be able to penetrate a NATO CRISAT target at 300 meters.

    The 5.56×45 w/55 grain projectile flies approx 2200 ft/sec (from a 7 inch barrel) and weighs 12.3 grams. (See http://www.sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=1093 for BARREL LENGTH STUDIES IN 5.56MM NATO WEAPONS)

    Assuming a very-short barrel (or pistol configuration) AR/M16 vs. the MP7 as a PDW, 4.6 gives you a 50% lighter cartridge that has roughly the same armor penetration and damage capability as the 5.56. Thus, you can carry much more ammo.

    The downside, of course, is lack of interchangeability. I think that in a crunch in a firefight, it would be nice to be able to stuff the same STANAG mags with NATO 5.56 ammo in anything from a 7″ pistol-based PDW to a 14″ or 16″ carbine to a 20″ scoped DMR rifle, enabling an entire team to share one load of ammo and mags.

    But then again, I’m not humping hundreds of rounds and hundreds of pounds in the desert or city….

  3. On June 21, 2017 at 12:54 pm, Herschel Smith said:

    @Jack,

    The bullets are different in mass. Put the “cartridges” side by side and they look virtually equivalent, leading me to say that the 4.6 is a knockoff of the 5.7. Lighter bullet weight doesn’t compute necessarily to lighter cartridge weight.

    @OldBill,

    Yea, who knew the tribal fighters in ‘Stan were doing all their combat close quarters and wearing magic Kevlar that will stop 5.56 mm but not 4.6.

  4. On June 21, 2017 at 11:08 pm, MTHead said:

    One thing they could have done with 5.7. is just drop an 5.7 upper on an m4 lower. That way going from cqb back to mission compatible ammo is only an upper swap. A 5.7 upper could even be suppressed and remain under 12″ total barrel, with a full 50rd. mag.

  5. On June 22, 2017 at 9:12 pm, Jorge said:

    SOF can specialize equipment because they can generally plan their mission out and decide when and where to engage the enemy… except when the enemy gets a vote, like Takur Ghar, Redwings, Bulo Marer, and others.

    With the SEAL tendency towards planning that makes Custer look like Subutai, I’m not surprised they utilize the MP7 in excessive numbers.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment


You are currently reading "SEAL Team 6 Loves The MP7", entry #17297 on The Captain's Journal.

This article is filed under the category(s) Firearms,Guns and was published June 20th, 2017 by Herschel Smith.

If you're interested in what else the The Captain's Journal has to say, you might try thumbing through the archives and visiting the main index, or; perhaps you would like to learn more about TCJ.

26th MEU (10)
Abu Muqawama (12)
ACOG (2)
ACOGs (1)
Afghan National Army (36)
Afghan National Police (17)
Afghanistan (704)
Afghanistan SOFA (4)
Agriculture in COIN (3)
AGW (1)
Air Force (40)
Air Power (10)
al Qaeda (83)
Ali al-Sistani (1)
America (22)
Ammunition (275)
Animals (282)
Ansar al Sunna (15)
Anthropology (3)
Antonin Scalia (1)
AR-15s (373)
Arghandab River Valley (1)
Arlington Cemetery (2)
Army (86)
Assassinations (2)
Assault Weapon Ban (28)
Australian Army (7)
Azerbaijan (4)
Backpacking (2)
Badr Organization (8)
Baitullah Mehsud (21)
Basra (17)
BATFE (218)
Battle of Bari Alai (2)
Battle of Wanat (18)
Battle Space Weight (3)
Bin Laden (7)
Blogroll (3)
Blogs (24)
Body Armor (23)
Books (3)
Border War (18)
Brady Campaign (1)
Britain (38)
British Army (35)
Camping (5)
Canada (17)
Castle Doctrine (1)
Caucasus (6)
CENTCOM (7)
Center For a New American Security (8)
Charity (3)
China (16)
Christmas (16)
CIA (30)
Civilian National Security Force (3)
Col. Gian Gentile (9)
Combat Outposts (3)
Combat Video (2)
Concerned Citizens (6)
Constabulary Actions (3)
Coolness Factor (3)
COP Keating (4)
Corruption in COIN (4)
Council on Foreign Relations (1)
Counterinsurgency (218)
DADT (2)
David Rohde (1)
Defense Contractors (2)
Department of Defense (210)
Department of Homeland Security (26)
Disaster Preparedness (5)
Distributed Operations (5)
Dogs (15)
Donald Trump (27)
Drone Campaign (4)
EFV (3)
Egypt (12)
El Salvador (1)
Embassy Security (1)
Enemy Spotters (1)
Expeditionary Warfare (17)
F-22 (2)
F-35 (1)
Fallujah (17)
Far East (3)
Fathers and Sons (2)
Favorite (1)
Fazlullah (3)
FBI (39)
Featured (189)
Federal Firearms Laws (18)
Financing the Taliban (2)
Firearms (1,758)
Football (1)
Force Projection (35)
Force Protection (4)
Force Transformation (1)
Foreign Policy (27)
Fukushima Reactor Accident (6)
Ganjgal (1)
Garmsir (1)
general (15)
General Amos (1)
General James Mattis (1)
General McChrystal (44)
General McKiernan (6)
General Rodriguez (3)
General Suleimani (9)
Georgia (19)
GITMO (2)
Google (1)
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (1)
Gun Control (1,633)
Guns (2,298)
Guns In National Parks (3)
Haditha Roundup (10)
Haiti (2)
HAMAS (7)
Haqqani Network (9)
Hate Mail (8)
Hekmatyar (1)
Heroism (4)
Hezbollah (12)
High Capacity Magazines (16)
High Value Targets (9)
Homecoming (1)
Homeland Security (3)
Horses (2)
Humor (72)
Hunting (31)
ICOS (1)
IEDs (7)
Immigration (106)
India (10)
Infantry (4)
Information Warfare (4)
Infrastructure (4)
Intelligence (23)
Intelligence Bulletin (6)
Iran (171)
Iraq (379)
Iraq SOFA (23)
Islamic Facism (64)
Islamists (98)
Israel (19)
Jaish al Mahdi (21)
Jalalabad (1)
Japan (3)
Jihadists (81)
John Nagl (5)
Joint Intelligence Centers (1)
JRTN (1)
Kabul (1)
Kajaki Dam (1)
Kamdesh (9)
Kandahar (12)
Karachi (7)
Kashmir (2)
Khost Province (1)
Khyber (11)
Knife Blogging (7)
Korea (4)
Korengal Valley (3)
Kunar Province (20)
Kurdistan (3)
Language in COIN (5)
Language in Statecraft (1)
Language Interpreters (2)
Lashkar-e-Taiba (2)
Law Enforcement (6)
Lawfare (14)
Leadership (6)
Lebanon (6)
Leon Panetta (2)
Let Them Fight (2)
Libya (14)
Lines of Effort (3)
Littoral Combat (8)
Logistics (50)
Long Guns (1)
Lt. Col. Allen West (2)
Marine Corps (280)
Marines in Bakwa (1)
Marines in Helmand (67)
Marjah (4)
MEDEVAC (2)
Media (67)
Medical (146)
Memorial Day (6)
Mexican Cartels (41)
Mexico (61)
Michael Yon (6)
Micromanaging the Military (7)
Middle East (1)
Military Blogging (26)
Military Contractors (5)
Military Equipment (25)
Militia (9)
Mitt Romney (3)
Monetary Policy (1)
Moqtada al Sadr (2)
Mosul (4)
Mountains (25)
MRAPs (1)
Mullah Baradar (1)
Mullah Fazlullah (1)
Mullah Omar (3)
Musa Qala (4)
Music (25)
Muslim Brotherhood (6)
Nation Building (2)
National Internet IDs (1)
National Rifle Association (95)
NATO (15)
Navy (30)
Navy Corpsman (1)
NCOs (3)
News (1)
NGOs (3)
Nicholas Schmidle (2)
Now Zad (19)
NSA (3)
NSA James L. Jones (6)
Nuclear (62)
Nuristan (8)
Obama Administration (221)
Offshore Balancing (1)
Operation Alljah (7)
Operation Khanjar (14)
Ossetia (7)
Pakistan (165)
Paktya Province (1)
Palestine (5)
Patriotism (7)
Patrolling (1)
Pech River Valley (11)
Personal (72)
Petraeus (14)
Pictures (1)
Piracy (13)
Pistol (4)
Pizzagate (21)
Police (648)
Police in COIN (3)
Policy (15)
Politics (969)
Poppy (2)
PPEs (1)
Prisons in Counterinsurgency (12)
Project Gunrunner (20)
PRTs (1)
Qatar (1)
Quadrennial Defense Review (2)
Quds Force (13)
Quetta Shura (1)
RAND (3)
Recommended Reading (14)
Refueling Tanker (1)
Religion (491)
Religion and Insurgency (19)
Reuters (1)
Rick Perry (4)
Rifles (1)
Roads (4)
Rolling Stone (1)
Ron Paul (1)
ROTC (1)
Rules of Engagement (75)
Rumsfeld (1)
Russia (37)
Sabbatical (1)
Sangin (1)
Saqlawiyah (1)
Satellite Patrols (2)
Saudi Arabia (4)
Scenes from Iraq (1)
Second Amendment (668)
Second Amendment Quick Hits (2)
Secretary Gates (9)
Sharia Law (3)
Shura Ittehad-ul-Mujahiden (1)
SIIC (2)
Sirajuddin Haqqani (1)
Small Wars (72)
Snipers (9)
Sniveling Lackeys (2)
Soft Power (4)
Somalia (8)
Sons of Afghanistan (1)
Sons of Iraq (2)
Special Forces (28)
Squad Rushes (1)
State Department (23)
Statistics (1)
Sunni Insurgency (10)
Support to Infantry Ratio (1)
Supreme Court (52)
Survival (185)
SWAT Raids (57)
Syria (38)
Tactical Drills (38)
Tactical Gear (14)
Taliban (168)
Taliban Massing of Forces (4)
Tarmiyah (1)
TBI (1)
Technology (21)
Tehrik-i-Taliban (78)
Terrain in Combat (1)
Terrorism (96)
Thanksgiving (13)
The Anbar Narrative (23)
The Art of War (5)
The Fallen (1)
The Long War (20)
The Surge (3)
The Wounded (13)
Thomas Barnett (1)
Transnational Insurgencies (5)
Tribes (5)
TSA (24)
TSA Ineptitude (13)
TTPs (4)
U.S. Border Patrol (6)
U.S. Border Security (18)
U.S. Sovereignty (23)
UAVs (2)
UBL (4)
Ukraine (10)
Uncategorized (98)
Universal Background Check (3)
Unrestricted Warfare (4)
USS Iwo Jima (2)
USS San Antonio (1)
Uzbekistan (1)
V-22 Osprey (4)
Veterans (3)
Vietnam (1)
War & Warfare (412)
War & Warfare (41)
War Movies (4)
War Reporting (21)
Wardak Province (1)
Warriors (6)
Waziristan (1)
Weapons and Tactics (79)
West Point (1)
Winter Operations (1)
Women in Combat (21)
WTF? (1)
Yemen (1)

March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006

about · archives · contact · register

Copyright © 2006-2024 Captain's Journal. All rights reserved.