Like the HK MP5 SD, but smaller
The integrally suppressed HK MP5 SD– the full-time suppressed variant of the MP5 submachine gun that even made full-house spicy ammo quiet– was probably the coolest SMG of the 1980s and 1990s. The thing is it isn’t small due to the large size of its efficient can.
The shortest MP5SD, fitted with the A3 stock, is 26.4 inches long with the stock retracted, growing to 32 when it is fully extended.
However, there is now something kinda cooler out there.
Based on the submission to the Army’s Sub Compact Weapon trials, B&T is releasing a small run of very cool little room brooms.
The company said the release of 160 integrally suppressed APC9K SD2 models complete with its scalable suppressor system comes to satisfy “continual requests by those familiar with the project.”
The gun was originally submitted as part of B&T’s swing at the Army’s SCW contract in 2018. Guns proposed for the program had to be “highly concealable” and “capable of engaging threat personnel with a high volume of lethal and accurate fires at close range with minimal collateral damage.”
The military originally courted a baker’s dozen gun makers to submit designs, including Angstadt, Colt, CMMG, CZ, Heckler & Koch, Lewis Machine & Tool, Noveske, PTR, SIG Sauer, Quarter Circle, and Zenith Firearms — the literal A-to-Z in compact gun makers. Ultimately, B&T beat out the field of big names for the tender.
The Army went with an unsuppressed model, opting for the B&T APC9K, sans can. The final $2.5 million award was for 350 SCWs, with an option for up to 1,000 of the weapons. The Air Force later piggybacked on that for some SCWs of their own, and the company released a semi-auto commercial APC9K PRO variant as well.
Spc. Michael Richardson, an Army Intelligence Analyst with the 733rd Military Police Battalion (CID), fires the APC9K submachine gun at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. (Photo/Caption: U.S. Army)
However, those who want something much more compact than the HK MP5SD (but, alas, not select fire due to the Hughes Amendment – thanks, Ronald Reagan!) can now grab an APC9K SD2 of their own, although it is a two-stamp gun (suppressor and SBR).
The SD2 is an integrally suppressed variant of the APC9K that features a scalable suppressor system and M-LOK compatible SD handguard. In its shortest configuration, the APC9K SD2 features a 3-inch ported barrel combined with an advanced over-the-barrel suppressor that is fully contained within the handguard.
In this configuration, the platform measures only 15 inches overall. Weight is 5.9 pounds, and the platform is modular, able to use standard B&T, Glock, and SIG P320 magazines via a swappable non-serialized lower receiver replacement. (Photo: B&T)