Heckler and Koch is known for its line of submachine guns, so it wasn’t surprising when the company delved into the growing Personal Defense Weapon niche. Although it already had a PDW version of its venerable MP5, the 9 mm cartridge was considered a drawback in light of the availibility of personal body armor. HK’s parent company at the time, British Ordnance, developed a new 4.6 mm cartridge that could penetrate basic body armor. Essentially, the bullet was a micronized rifle round rather than a similar pistol cartridge. The MP7 is designed to be fired single-handed (preferably in semi-auto mode) or two-handed using the retractable stock and folding front handle. The MP7 has a long accessory rail along the top for mounting of combat optics or other packages. It can use conformal fifteen round magazines or extended thirty round magazines.
