Unofficially anticipated for quite some time now, with a few sneak peeks popping out on the Internet here and there in the past few weeks, the 9mm Beretta PMXs has finally been officially launched on the commercial market in its motherland Italy just last week as the civilian-grade version of the Beretta PMX sub-machine gun, launched back in 2017 and now being distributed to the Italian Armed Forces and law enforcement community to replace the legendary but now aging PM-12S.

Due to the overall length vs. barrel length ratio, even with its side-folding stock, the Beretta PMXs is classified as a pistol by the Italian law. In other Countries it may be legally classified as a pistol-caliber carbine or (chiefly in the USA) as a short-barrel rifle. Regardless of its legal classification, Beretta has the PMXs aimed straight at the home defense, private security and IPSC/USPSA and tactical competition shooting markets.

Just like its full-automatic counterpart, the Beretta PMXs is a blowback-operated, closed-bolt design patterned after the – now long out of production and very collectable – B&T P26 pistol of Swiss manufacture. And just like the full-automatic counterpart, the Beretta PMXs has been subject to all NATO standard stress tests and passed them all with flying colors.

The Beretta PMXs feeds through proprietary double-stack, translucent polymer straight magazines holding 20 rounds of 9x19mm or 9x21 IMI ammunition, depending from the Country. Unlike the original PMX military magazines, the civilian-grade PMXs magazines feature a reinforced, rubberized black buttplate that will absorb the shock of a fall and extend the magazine's overall service life – a must-have for competition shooters who often perform tactical reloads.

Both the upper and lower receivers of the Beretta PMXs are manufactured out of polymer; a black polymer folding stock, equipped with a slightly convex rubberized buttplate, comes standard from factory and folds to the right. The stock is provided with a reinforced detent latch for superior resistance to wear and damage from shocks, bumps and falls.

The Beretta PMXs comes with three short MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny rail segments at 3, 6, and 9-o'clock positions on the handguard, providing plenty of room for tactical accessories such as laser sights, tactical gunlights, or vertical foregrips. A set of flip-up polymer sights is issued from factory, installed on a full-length top Picatinny rail which also dubs as an interface for optical sights.

Both the magazine catch and manual safety on the Beretta PMXs are ambidextrous; the stock folding hinge button and bolt hold-open release button are instead located only on the left side, while the charging handle can be swapped for left-handed or right-handed operation. Other features of the Beretta PMXs include a grip angle that's reminiscent of that of Beretta's own APX pistol, and a set of front and rear rings of both sides for a standard military-issue two-points sling.

The Beretta PMXs is 65 cm / 25.6" long overall with its stock extended and barely 42,8 cm / 16.8" with the stock folded. The standard nitride-finished barrel is 175 mm / 6.88" long, and features a ½-28 thread at the muzzle for flash hiders, muzzle brakes, or silencers. An optional 185 mm / 7.28" long barrel is also available to allow the use of the PMXs in PCC shooting competitions.

The Beretta PMXs weighs in at 2,4 kg / 5.29 oz. empty, and comes issued from factory with two magazines, a mag charger, a dedicated cleaning kit and a two-points sling – the same issued to the Italian military and law enforcement for the PMX sub-machine gun. The manufacturer's suggested retail price has been announced at 1.649,00 Euros in Italy; no information concerning international availability and pricing has been released so far.