USW-P (Striker Fired Pistol) 9mm: a Swiss-made wonder.

At Enforce TAC 2018, the Swiss company B&T created in 1991 revealed its new “pistol only” designed for support personnel, not front-line fighters. But with its spring-loaded folding stock variant (the original one), it aims at fulfilling the gap between pistols and police carbines.

The original USW-SF pistol with folding stock, and its "pistol only" USF-P variant (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The USW-SF (Universal Service Weapon) combines the size of a duty pistol with the extended range and accuracy of a 9mm police carbine. It’s light thanks to its alloy/polymer frame (aircraft-grade aluminum), it’s economical, it’s stable when switching from standard configuration to folding-stock one, and it’s without any serious competitor for the resistance of its AIMPOINT sighting system due to its particular fixation.

The USW-SF (Universal Service Weapon) was initially designed with a small and very light folding stock. The “pistol only” configuration was revealed at Enforce TAC 2018. The rugged two-piece frame plus the striker-fired trigger make the USW-P the perfect complement to the USW-SF.

The short course of the trigger reset between each shot enables the user to both shoot faster and keep a stable sighting than with other pistols. Moreover, when the red dot of the Aimpoint NANO Micro Red Dot Sight sighting system is set on a target, a slight pressure of the tip of the index on the button which allows to detach the spring-loaded folding stock enables to keep the red dot on the target. So, the shooter doesn’t lose his target from sight while completely unfolding the little stock and then quickly fire to distances up to 75 meters (250 feet).

Most – if not all – of the pistols whose laser sighting system is fixed on any mobile part of the weapon suffer from a progressive unreliability of this essential component after hundreds of rounds have been fired. By fixing the sighting system on the frame behind the mobile parts of the pistol, this problem is solved, as it doesn’t move.

The magazine sizes offer three possibilities: 17, 19 or even 30 rounds.

B&T also manufactures police carbines (APC, Advanced Police Carbines) in 9mm or .45 caliber, more powerful APC223/556/300 ones, and an ultimate APC308 manufactured since 2017. Additional productions cover namely a wide range of silencers, to mention only that.