5.7x28mm

Infobox Firearm Cartridge
name=5.7x28mm


caption=Civilian-legal 5.7 x 28 mm cartridges. From left to right: SS195LF, SS196SR, SS197SR, and a lighter for scale.
origin=flagcountry|Belgium
type=Personal defense weapon
service=1994-present
used_by=NATO
wars=
designer=Fabrique Nationale
design_date=1989-1994
manufacturer=Fabrique Nationale
production_date=1994-present
number=
variants=See "Rounds"
is_SI_specs=yes
parent=
case_type=Rimless, bottleneck
bullet=5.70
neck=6.38
shoulder=7.95
base=7.95
rim_dia=7.80
rim_thick= 1.14
case_length=28.9
length=40.50
case_capacity=0.90
rifling=228.6 mm (1 in 9 in)
primer=Small pistol
max_pressure=345.0
max_cup=
is_SI_ballistics=yes
bw1=32
btype1=SS190 AP FMJ
vel1=716
en1=538
bw2=55
btype2=SS193 FMJ BT
vel2=305
en2=163
bw3=28
btype3=SS195LF JHPDubious|393J|date=September 2008
vel3=701
en3=393
bw4=40
btype4=SS197SR JHP
vel4=594
en4=461
bw5=
btype5=
vel5=
en5=
test_barrel_length=263 mm (10.35 in)
balsrc= The 5.7x28 mm cartridge is a small caliber cartridge for pistols, submachine guns/personal defense weapons and carbines developed by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN Herstal).

The 5.7x28 mm rounds are bottlenecked cartridges with 5.7 mm (.224 inch) bullets and come in several versions. The 5.7x28 mm cartridges have high muzzle velocity and low recoil, and were designed to be more effective against modern body armor when used in pistols, submachine guns, or carbines.

Overview

The SS190, the de facto 5.7x28 mm standard cartridge for military and law enforcement, was originally designed for the modern battlefield where troops may be wearing body armor and conventional pistol or submachine gun rounds may be ineffective. Currently the only firearms chambered for this cartridge are the Five-seveN pistol, the FN P90 personal defense weapon, the FN PS90 carbine, and the AR-57 rifle. Singapore Technologies Kinetics [http://www.stengg.com/aboutus/company_detail.aspx?cylid=0&cyid=5] , using the cartridge in the kinetic component of their Squad Support Weapon, is developing a third-party weapon system. [http://www.stengg.com/CoyCapPro/detail.aspx?pdid=218]

Some military and police personnel view the 5.7x28 mm SS190 skeptically, although it is touted as a solution to defeating modern body armor. Many regard the SS190 as having insufficient "stopping power" for law enforcement use and this topic has seen much debate. A brief controversy ensued in the United States in 2004 when it was claimed by the Brady Campaign that the civilian-legal SS192 cartridges are able to pierce Level IIA body armor when fired from the Five-seveN pistol. All civilian-legal game hunting cartridges, and even several pistol cartridges, are capable of such penetration. The ability of SS192 to pierce body armor as claimed by the Brady Campaign was not confirmed with facts or data by any authoritative agencies or sources. The ammunition was not restricted for civilian sales, since it is not legally recognized as armor piercing by the BATFE. Nonetheless, FN chose to withdraw the SS192 from the market and replace it with the SS196SR. The SS196SR's performance against armor is diminished due to a heavier varmint bullet (leading to lower muzzle velocity) and a polycarbonate tip that promotes expansion and fragmentation upon impact. The performance of such cartridges are similar to the .22 WMR (.22 Magnum).

FN's 5.7x28 mm brass cases are covered with a special polymer coating for easier extraction on the Five-seveN pistol and PS90 carbine due to the high chamber pressures and lack of case tapering. In addition, the coating ensures proper feeding and function in the P90 magazines.

Cartridge dimensions

The 5.7x28mm has 0.90 ml (13.85 grains) H₂O cartridge case capacity.

5.7x28mm maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimeters (mm).

Americans would define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 ≈ 35 degrees. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 228.6 mm (1 in 9 in), 8 grooves, Ø lands = 5.53 mm, Ø grooves = 5.62 mm, land width = 1.63 mm and the primer type is small pistol.

According to the official C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) guidelines the 5.7x28mm case can handle up to 345 MPa (50,037 psi) piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every rifle cartridge combo has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers.

Rounds

[
FN PS90 using the MC-10-80 reflex sight.]
[
FN PS90 using the MC-10-80 reflex sight.]

90 ball

An early prototype round. It used a lightweight 1.5 g (23-grain) full metal jacket bullet with a polymer core. It was abandoned in 1994 in favor of the heavier SS190 projectile, which has greater potential for accuracy and penetration, as well as being shorter and thus easier to fit in FN's then-upcoming Five-seven pistol.

190 Duty Round

The SS190 AP ball FMJ is designated as "armor piercing" (AP) ammunition, designed to penetrate body armor. Its sale to civilians is restricted. The SS190 bullet has a steel penetrator and an aluminium coreFact|date=December 2007. It is interesting to note that the SS109 FMJ bullet is essentially of the same design, except it uses a lead core with a steel penetrator. The SS109 is frequently found in civilian-legal M855 loads sold as surplus or contract-overrun ammunition.Fact|date=December 2007

FN Herstal has stated that the SS190 round will easily penetrate protections that stop normal pistol rounds, but will not penetrate protections that stop the 5.56x45 mm NATO round such as Level III armor.Fact|date=December 2007 The SS190 has demonstrated varying penetration depths of about 250 mm to 330 mm (10 to 13 inches) in gelatin testing by various agenciesDubious|date=March 2008. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Academy forensics laboratory tested SS190 fired out of a P90 into 10% ordnance gelatin, 10% gelatin covered with heavy clothing, and 10% gelatin covered with Level II soft armorFact|date=December 2007. The average penetration depth in all test events was approximately 264 mm (10.4 inches)Fact|date=December 2007; the temporal wound cavity did not exceed 91 mm (3.75 inches)Fact|date=December 2007. Testing of the P90 done by Dr. Gary K. Roberts DDS showed an average of 300 mm (12 inches) penetration in 10% ballistic gelatinFact|date=December 2007. Houston, TX SWAT has also done testing with similar results. Many have asserted that these figures are not deep enoughDubious|date=March 2008, as the current FBI minimum penetration depth is 300 mm (12 inches) in 10% ballistic gelatinFact|date=December 2007.

L191 Tracer

Combustible chemicals packed in the rear of the projectile create a contrail visible up to 200 meters. The L191's ballistics are almost identical to those of the SS190. L191 tracer ammunition has a red tip. Its sale to civilians is restricted by FN.

192 Hollow Point

Features a hollow point bullet. SS192 ammunition uses a 1.8 g (28 grains) unmarked hollow tip, with an aluminum core. SS192 can be differentiated from SS195LF (lead-free; see below) by the brass-colored primer. Production of this round has been discontinued, and it has been replaced by SS195LF.

B193 Sub Sonic

The SB193 cartridge features a 3.6 g (55 grain) Sierra Game King FMJBT (Full Metal Jacket Boat Tail) projectile. The SB193's low muzzle velocity eliminates the distinctive "crack" created by supersonic rounds when used in conjunction with the P90 Gemtech sound suppressor. The SB193 suffers from greatly reduced penetration and range, but benefits from slightly lower recoil. The white colored bullet tip can identify SB193 subsonic ammunition. Its sale to civilians is restricted by FN.

T194 training/duty

The T194 training round is an early version of the SS192. Visually, it is the same as the SS192 but has a green tip and silver-colored primer. The bullet weight/velocity of the T194 are identical to the SS192 and the newer SS195. The T194 round was discontinued in 2002.

195LF Lead Free Round

The SS195LF cartridge features a lead-free primer and projectile with similar ballistics to the SS192 round. It features a 5.7 mm (.224 inch) 1.77 g (28 grains) copper-jacketed lead free metallic core bullet. The SS195LF cartridge can be identified by the unmarked, hollow void at the tip and the silver-colored lead-free primer. SS195LF is available to civilians and does not penetrate Level IIIa soft vests. [" [http://www.atf.gov/firearms/firearmstech/fabriquen.htm FN 5.7 (Fabrique Nationale) pistol is a semiautomatic pistol in 5.7x28mm caliber] " at the ATF web site] Note: Some PS90 owners may experience intermittent problems with SS195LF lot FNB06C971-016 [" [http://fivesevenforum.net/showthread.php?t=10220&highlight=FNB06C971-016 Warning - Bad Ammo Lot (SS195)] " at http://www.FiveseveNforum.com]

196SR Sporting Round

The discontinued SS196SR cartridge was replaced with SS197SR. Civilians can still purchase remaining lots of SS196SR. The SS196SR cartridge features a 2.6 g (40 grains), 5.7 mm (.224 inch) diameter Hornady V-Max bullet. The polycarbonate tip in the V-Max bullet enhances expansion of the bullet. The red colored tip differentiates the SS196SR from the blue colored tip of SS197SR.

197SR Sporting Round

Fiocchi currently manufactures SS197SR under contract for FN Herstal. The SS197SR cartridge uses the same 2.6 g (40 grain) 5.7 mm (.224 inch) Hornady V-Max projectile as the SS196SR, but it is loaded for a slightly higher muzzle velocity. The bullets have a blue-colored polycarbonate tip. The first SS197SR boxes exhibit the modern FN blue and black colored packaging as shown in the photographs. Newer SS197SR boxes have a similar exterior appearance to the SS196SR and SS195LF boxes. These white cardboard boxes have an adhesive label, marked "Made in Italy”, which helps prevent cartridges from falling out of the box during shipment. The colored boxes rely solely on the flaps and do not use an adhesive label. SS197SR is available to civilians.

198

A new cartridge that is being planned for release. Current information indicates the SS198 will be identical to SS195LF but loaded for a higher muzzle velocity to boost the penetration in soft tissue. It will be restricted by FN Herstal (not by the BATFE) for sale/distribution to law enforcement and military customers as a duty cartridge.

Photographs

pecifications

"Note: Due to the longer 40.74 cm (16.04 inches) barrel of the PS90, the muzzle velocity of SS195LF is 75 m/s (250 ft/s) faster, while the muzzle velocities of SS196SR and SS197SR are 45 m/s (150 ft/s) faster."

Weapons

*FN P90
*FN Five-seven
*FN PS90
*AR-57 [http://www.57center.com]

ee also

*List of cartridges by caliber
*List of rifle cartridges
*4.6x30mm
*.22 WMR
*.22 Long Rifle
*5 mm caliber

References

* C.I.P. decisions, texts and tables ( [http://www.cip-bp.org/index.php?id=tdcc-telechargement free current C.I.P. CD-ROM version download (ZIP and RAR format)] )

External links

* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_144_24/ai_57886949 American Handgunner Five-seveN/P90 Article]
* [http://www.fnhusa.com/contents/tw_57x28system.htm FNH USA — 5.7x28mm Weapon System]
* [http://www.d3lf.net/p90/ammo.htm Cross-sections of the SS190 and SS193 rounds]
* [http://www.eliteammunition.com - Elite Ammunition: Makers of 5.7x28mm Ammunition]