Brugger & Thomet MP-9 DS-ARMS of Barrington (Illinois), famous in the USA for their high-end modernized FAL clones, is currently importing in the USA (for Military/LE and Class 3 Dealers only, obviously), the newest Swiss-made submachinegun, the BRUGGER&THOMET MP-9, which is an improved "Generation 2" of the older Austrian STEYR TMP machine-pistol. Brugger&Thomet of Solothourn, Switzerland, acquired in 2001 the rights about this weapon (not just the manufacturing license, all the stuff passed from Steyr to B&T), after the TMP, as good as it was, turned out to be the worst-selling in the Steyr Military/LE cache. B&T solved most of the problems and design flaws reported on the TMP (basically they fitted it with a side-folding stock, thus solving the issues concerning the controllability in full-autofire, which the already-existing foregrip by itself couldn't help because of the high rate of fire of this weapon), and improved the versatility by making the barrel muzzle readier to attach sound suppressors, added accessory rails over and under the frame, and re-engineered the empty cases ejection window so that it could easily fit a brass-catcher. This so-improved TMP-MP9 submachinegun has been introduced in early 2004, since then it has been adopted by several police, governmental and military units not only in Switzerland but also in the entire Europe, and B&T also gave origin to a .4'6x30mm-HK prototype called the "TMP-A1", with a collapsing stock, and taking 42-rounds transparent plastic curved magazines which fitted in the grip. This project seems to have been set apart whatsoever, after the H&K MP7A1-PDW awarded military and police contracts in Europe and worldwide (becoming the standard NATO sidearm for AWACS crews) but didn't actually resulted in the "big one" that H&K expected it to be. Curiosity: there are two civilian versions of the MP-9. In fact, even before starting to manufacture the submachinegun, BRUGGER&THOMET made a small quantities of a civilian pistol, which was all in all identical to the Steyr TMP submachinegun except for the fact that it was semiauto-only. It was called "TSP-A1", and so it was marked on the left side of the frame (TSP-A1 -- SWISS-MADE), and it was sold only on the Swiss and German civilian markets. Nonetheless, B&T today still lists on its website a semiautomatic-only (possibly civilian?) version of the MP9, called "TP-9". It would be interesting if one of you Americans could get in touch with DS-Arms and ask them if they're importing the civvie one in the USA. Being it a pistol, not a rifle, its import shouldn't be forbidden under the Bush ban, otherwise DS-Arms could have plans to assemble it directly in the USA... Photos and information from: Pierangelo Tendas & DS Arms

Website by: E-Image Agency