The United States Army has announced the completion of the 315 Swiss-designed, newly produced APC9K submachine guns, marking the full delivery of items after a procurement journey that started back in 2019 to enhance the abilities of those protecting high-ranking officials.
The Army signed a contract with B&T USA, an American subsidiary of Swiss gunmaker B&T, to buy the subcompact weapons in March 2019. Initially valued at more than $2.5 million, the contract included options for up to 350 guns and to potentially purchase as many as 1,000. The U.S. Air Force joined the contract in 2020 for 65 APC9Ks.
“The first systems were fielded to personnel security branch [PSB] personnel in May 2019,” a spokesman in the Program Manager Soldier Lethality office told Military Times. The Army has fielded 315 weapons to PSB personnel, and has now completed acquisition and fielding, the spokesperson added.
The APC9K is a subcompact version of the APC9 PRO and has a 4.3-inch barrel, making it significantly short and coming to just under 20.9 inches in total length, which can be reduced further to 12.7 inches in length by retraction of its sliding stock. With this, the draw offers application to PSB personnel for personal defense, considering they are usually in civilian attires, in addition to close-quarters use and discreet carry.
Working under the 701st Military Police Group, the Protective Services Battalion of the Army, reporting to the Criminal Investigation Command, or CID is tasked with providing “worldwide, executive-level protection” for high-ranking officials of the defense and visiting foreign counterparts. The APC9K represents a quantum leap in firepower from ordinary pistols for these agents while maintaining a low profile, making it optimal for their unique operational needs.
The APC9K is engineered to accept accessory rails on top, side, and bottom, to accept different optics, aiming, lasers, and tactical lights. The APC9 series can also be set up to run off of magazines from B&T, Glock, and Sig Sauer P320 pistols—the last of which are used in the Army’s new M17 and M18 sidearms.
Taking the pleasant with the not-so-good, the use of a 9 mm submachine gun such as this Army variant of the APC9K, versus something newer in the field of personal defense weapons firing rifle cartridges, does stir the curiosity of the reader. But all this is probably due to the concerns over “over penetration” in environments densely crammed with innocent community members. The 9mm APC9K allows one to balance firepower with concealability, ideally suited for the protective security role.
The new Army APC9Ks replace the iconic Heckler & Koch 9mm MP5 submachine guns, also never assigned service nomenclatures. They provide the reassurance that PSB personnel remain concealed and effective in protecting VIPs both in the homeland and abroad.