PP-90
- Category
- Personal Defense Weapon
- Barrel
- 200 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.83 kg
- Introduced
- 1990
About
What it is, and why it matters
The PP-90 is a Russian folding submachine gun developed by the KBP Instrument Design Bureau in Tula and chambered in 9x18mm Makarov. Its defining feature is that the entire weapon folds flat into a compact rectangular box roughly the size of a hardcover book, allowing it to be carried concealed and deployed rapidly. Operating on simple blowback, it is full-automatic capable and was intended for close-quarters protection of officials, undercover police, and security personnel.
The PP-90 folds in half into a flat steel rectangle that looks like an innocuous metal case, letting a bodyguard or undercover officer carry a full submachine gun in plain sight and snap it open in about two seconds.
Designed as a clandestine 'briefcase' weapon; the folded form is intended to disguise the gun. Largely superseded by the PP-90M and the unrelated 9x19mm PP-90M1.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- KBP Instrument Design Bureau
- Category
- Personal Defense Weapon
- Country
- Russia
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1990
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 200 mm
- Overall length
- 490 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.83 kg
- Weight, loaded
- 2.23 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Blowback
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 30
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Finish
- Phosphate
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 320 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 312 J
- Effective range
- 100 m
- Rate of fire
- 600 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
- Folds into rectangular box
Concealable
Fixed sights
Select fire
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 54 personal defense weapons | 1.83 kg | 2.23 kg | Lighter than about 70% |
| Overall lengthAmong 53 personal defense weapons | 490 mm | 582 mm | Shorter than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 55 personal defense weapons | 200 mm | 168 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 57 personal defense weapons | 30 | 30 | Holds more rounds than about 70% |
Its place in the rankings
Answers
Questions about the PP-90
How much does the PP-90 weigh?
The PP-90 weighs 1.83 kg (4.03 lb) empty and 2.23 kg (4.92 lb) loaded.
What caliber is the PP-90?
The PP-90 is chambered in 9x18mm Makarov.
How many rounds does the PP-90 hold?
The PP-90 holds 30 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the PP-90?
The PP-90 is 490 mm (19.3 in) long overall, with a 200 mm (7.87 in) barrel.
Who makes the PP-90?
The PP-90 is made by KBP Instrument Design Bureau (Russia).
When was the PP-90 introduced?
The PP-90 was introduced in 1990.
How does the PP-90 operate?
The PP-90 uses a blowback action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Russian Internal Troops (MVD)
- Russia
- Russian special police units
- Russia
Provenance
Confidence in this record
70%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/kbp-pp-90' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "kbp-pp-90", "name": "PP-90", "manufacturer": { "id": "kbp-instrument-design-bureau", "name": "KBP Instrument Design Bureau", "countryCode": "RU", "foundedYear": 1927, "website": "https://www.kbptula.ru", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:45", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:45", "version": "8cf3636cc6feb712f7e7bc2310f7debf3eeaf1744eafd9ea9064629b666dd69c" }, "category": { "id": "personal-defense-weapon", "name": "Personal Defense Weapon", "description": "Compact firearms designed for non-frontline military personnel" }, "country_of_origin": "RU", "year_introduced": 1990, "barrel_length_mm": 200, "weight_empty_g": 1830, "action_type": "blowback"}