page_title: FN P90
section_title: Users
hierarchical_section_title: FN P90 / Users
caption_attribution_description: Soldaten der Spezialeinsatzkräfte beim Training.
context_page_description: The FN P90, also known as the FN Project 1990 PDWS, is a compact personal defense weapon designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. Created in response to NATO requests for a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum firearms, the P90 was designed as a compact but powerful firearm for vehicle crews, operators of crew-served weapons, support personnel, special forces, and counter-terrorist groups.
  Designed in conjunction with the FN Five-seven pistol and FN 5.7×28mm ammunition, development of the weapon began in 1986, and production commenced in 1990, whereupon the 5.7×28mm ammunition was redesigned and shortened. A modified version of the P90 with a magazine adapted to use the new ammunition was introduced in 1993, and the Five-seven pistol was subsequently introduced as a companion weapon using the same 5.7×28mm ammunition.
  Featuring a compact bullpup design with an integrated reflex sight and fully ambidextrous controls, the P90 is an unconventional weapon with a futuristic appearance. Its design incorporates several innovations such as a unique top-mounted magazine and FN's small-caliber, high-velocity 5.7×28mm ammunition.
context_section_description: Despite being originally intended as a defensive weapon for military personnel whose primary role is not fighting with small arms (such as vehicle drivers), most sales of the P90 have been to special forces and counter-terrorist groups who use it for offensive roles. The P90 first saw operational use in the 1991 Gulf War, where it was used by the Belgian special forces group.
  In 1997, suppressed P90s were used in combat by the Peruvian special forces group (Grupo de Fuerzas Especiales) in Operation Chavín de Huantar, the hostage rescue siege that ended the Japanese embassy hostage crisis. The operation was a success: all 14 MRTA revolutionaries were killed, and 71 hostages were rescued. The MRTA revolutionaries who had taken the hostages were equipped with body armor, but it was defeated by the Peruvian special forces' P90s. In 2011, P90s were used by Muammar Gaddafi's military forces in the 2011 Libyan civil war, and some of these examples were captured and used in the war by Libyan rebel forces.
  By 2009, the P90 was in service with military and police forces in over 40 countries. In the United States, Houston Police Department was the first local law enforcement agency to adopt the P90, acquiring it for their SWAT team in 1999. In 2003, the Houston SWAT team became one of the first agencies in the country to use the weapon in a shootout. By 2009, the P90 was in use with over 200 law enforcement agencies in the United States, including the Secret Service and Federal Protective Service. In response, the National Rifle Association added the P90 and PS90 to its NRA Tactical Police Competition standards, allowing law enforcement agencies to compete in the event using either weapon.
caption: Austrian soldiers armed with P90s during a training exercise
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