A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an automatic firearm with notably less firepower than a machine gun. As a machine gun must fire rifle cartridges to be classified as such, submachine guns are not considered machine guns. The submachine gun was developed during World War I (1914–1918) as a close quarter offensive weapon, mainly for trench raiding. At its peak during World War II (1939–1945), millions of submachine guns were made for assault troops and auxiliaries whose doctrines emphasized close-quarter suppressive fire. New submachine gun designs appeared frequently during the Cold War, especially among special forces, covert operation commandos and mechanized infantrymen. Submachine gun usage for frontline combat decreased in the 1980s and 1990s, and by the early 21st century, submachine guns have largely been replaced by assault rifles, which have a longer effective range, have increased stopping power, and can better penetrate the helmets and body armor used by modern soldiers. However, they are still used by security forces, police tactical units, paramilitary and bodyguards for close-quarters combat because they are "a pistol-caliber weapon that's easy to control, and less likely to overpenetrate the target".
A semi-automatic rifle is an auto-loading rifle that fires a single round of ammunition at a time. It uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and automatically loads another cartridge into its chamber. This is in contrast to bolt-action or lever-action rifles, which require the user to manually chamber a new round before they can fire again, and fully automatic rifles which fire continuously while the trigger is held down.
The Mini-14 is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Introduced in 1973, the design was outwardly based on the M14 rifle and is, in appearance, a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, though with its own gas system design.
Personal defense weapons (PDWs) are a class of compact, magazine-fed automatic firearms that are typically submachine guns designed to fire rifle-like cartridges. Most PDWs fire a small-caliber, high-velocity centerfire bottleneck cartridge resembling a scaled-down intermediate cartridge, essentially making them an "in-between" hybrid between a submachine gun and a conventional carbine.
The 6.8mm Remington Special Purpose Cartridge is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate rifle cartridge that was developed by Remington Arms in collaboration with members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and United States Special Operations Command to possibly replace the 5.56 NATO cartridge in short barreled rifles (SBR) and carbines. Based on the .30 Remington cartridge, it is midway between the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO in bore diameter. It uses the same diameter bullet as the .270 Winchester hunting cartridge.
The two most common assault rifles in the world are the Soviet AK-47 and the American M16. These Cold War-era rifles have been used in conflicts both large and small since the 1960s. They are used by military, police, security forces, revolutionaries, terrorists, criminals, and civilians alike and will most likely continue to be used for decades to come. As a result, they have been the subject of countless comparisons and endless debate.
The Colt SCAMP was conceived in 1969 as a replacement to the aging Colt M1911A1 pistol.
The StG 45(M) (abbreviation of Sturmgewehr 45, "Assault Rifle 45") sometimes referred to as the MP 45(M), was a prototype assault rifle developed by Mauser for the Wehrmacht at the end of World War II, using an innovative roller-delayed blowback operating system. It fired the 7.92×33mm Kurz (or "Pistolenpatrone 7.9mm") intermediate cartridge at a cyclic rate of around 450 rounds per minute.
The 6.5×25mm CBJ is a firearm cartridge designed by CBJ Tech AB, a Swedish weapon development company based in Kungsbacka, for its CBJ-MS submachine gun/personal defence weapon.
An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate-rifle cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles were first put into mass production and accepted into widespread service during World War II. The first assault rifle to see major usage was the German StG 44, a development of the earlier Mkb 42. While immediately after World War II, NATO countries were equipped with battle rifles, the development of the M16 rifle during the Vietnam War prompted the adoption of assault rifles by the rest of NATO. By the end of the 20th century, assault rifles had become the standard weapon in most of the world's armies, replacing full-powered rifles and submachine guns in most roles. The two most successful modern assault rifles are the AK-47 and the M16 designs and their derivatives.
The Magpul PDR is a prototype bullpup-style 5.56×45mm NATO carbine unveiled by Magpul Industries in 2006. Although halted in development as of 2011 it has garnered some attention, largely due to its "futuristic" appearance. The system consists of a gas-operated bullpup carbine intended to replace some submachine guns, M9 pistols and M4 carbines while still offering the rapid fire and range of an M4 carbine in an ultra compact firearm.
The Saab Bofors Dynamics CBJ-MS is a personal defense weapon/submachine gun designed and manufactured by Swedish weapon developer CBJ Tech AB, and was also manufactured by Saab Bofors Dynamics. It can be chambered for both 6.5×25mm CBJ and 9×19mm Parabellum cartridges via simple barrel changes.
The .224 Boz cartridge was developed in the late 1990s, designed as a candidate replacement cartridge for adoption as the standardized NATO ("STANAG") Personal defense weapon PDW round, originally solicited to replace the longstanding NATO standard (STANAG) 9×19mm Parabellum. It was going to be the British entry, to be evaluated alongside the Belgian FN 5.7x28mm and the German HK 4.6×30mm armor-piercing cartridges. The solicitation would also seek to find, test and standardize a PDW cartridge capable of, at the minimum, defeating the Collaborative Research Into Small Arms Technology (CRISAT) body armour of the time.
Lewis Machine & Tool Company (LMT) is an American armaments company founded by Karl Lewis, in 1980. It manufactures weapon systems, including a variant of the M4 carbine and the M203 grenade launcher. Its products are used by the military forces of the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Estonia and the United States. It formerly produced forged FN FAL receivers for Illinois-based DS Arms.
The 5.56×30mm MINSAS is a firearm cartridge manufactured by India's Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) for close-quarters combat use. It has an effective range of 300 metres (980 ft) and good penetration against body armor. OFB claims it exhibits penetration superior to 9mm.
The 4.6×30mm cartridge is a small-caliber, high-velocity, smokeless powder, rebated, bottleneck, centerfire cartridge designed for personal defense weapons (PDW) developed by German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch (HK) in 1999. It was designed primarily for the MP7 PDW to minimize weight and recoil while increasing body armor penetration. It features a pointed, steel-core, brass-jacketed bullet.
The FN 5.7×28mm is a small-caliber, high-velocity, smokeless-powder, rebated, non-tapered, bottleneck, centerfire cartridge designed for pistols and personal defense weapons (PDW) uses, manufactured by FN Herstal. It is similar in length to the .22 WMR and .22 Hornet. Unlike many new cartridges, it has no parent case; the complete package was developed from scratch by FN.
The AAC Honey Badger is an AR-pattern personal defense weapon, designed primarily for use in a suppressed configuration. It is chambered in .300 AAC Blackout and was originally produced by Advanced Armament Corporation (AAC). The weapon is named after the honey badger.
