FN HiPer: a new generation of service pistols
The FN Herstal announced the imminent launch of a new service pistol for law enforcement, military, and special forces: the HiPer – a name reminiscent of the legendary "High Power" – is a striker-fired, polymer frame 9mm handgun that will debut officially at the EUROSATORY expo in Paris, in mid-June
The FN HiPer – a name that brings to mind the legendary Browning High Power and its many decades as a standard sidearm for military forces and law enforcement agencies worldwide – is the new semi-automatic service pistol that the FN Herstal group of Belgium intends to launch in 2022.
The FN HiPer pistol will debut officially at the EUROSATORY 2022 expo, scheduled to be held on June 13th thru 17th at the Nord Villepinte exhibition area in Paris (France). According to FN Herstal, the new HiPer will be – at least initially – reserved to professional customers: law enforcement agencies, armies and other military forces, special operations units. Commercial sales shall come later.
The FN HiPer is a locked-breech, loaded striker-fired, semi-automatic pistol featuring a short recoil barrel operation and built on a sturdy polymer frame with numerous checkered slip-proof contact areas, a Picatinny rail for accessories, an ambidextrous hold-open release catch, a peculiar sliding magazine catch located on both sides of the grip, and three interchangeable ergonomic grip covers.
FN HiPer 9mm Luger semi-automatic pistol – right side
FN HiPer 9mm Luger semi-automatic pistol – left side
The grip of the FN HiPer has been designed to encourage a higher grip, keeping the shooter's hand more in line with the bore axis for better control. Like most current-generation polymer-frame pistols, the HiPer is based on a chassis system – meaning that the fire control group, enclosed in a metal housing inside the polymer frame, is the serialized component – for additional versatility.
FN HiPer 9mm Luger semi-automatic pistol, MRD variant – right side
FN HiPer 9mm Luger semi-automatic pistol, MRD variant – left side
The slide of the FN HiPer features front and rear slide serrations and a set of iron sights dovetailed on to it and easily removable, to be replaced with higher sights that will help operate the gun when used in conjunction with a sound suppressor or will co-witness with a reflex or red dot sight.
Like a vast majority of modern service and defensive pistols, FN's new HiPer will also have an optics-ready counterpart (dubbed the FN HiPer MRD), with a modular interface plate machined at the rear of the slide, just in front of the rear sight, to host some of the most common micro red dot sights currently available on the global markets.
The FN HiPer will be available in a black and a flat dark earth version, both as of today announced only in 9mm Luger and feeding from proprietary double-stack magazines with a 15-rounds capacity in their factory basic configuration. Among the available accessories for the HiPer is also a rear slide plate that will provide additional gripping surfaces for hand racking, much like FN's own Five-seveN and Heckler & Koch's SFP9 or VP9 designs..
The FN HiPer pistol is 18 cm (7.08") long overall, features a 10 cm (3.94") barrel, and weighs in at 730 grams (4.59 oz.) when empty. Other innovative patented FN features to be found on the HiPer pistol include a new trigger group design that allow the pistol to be field-stripped without having to pull the trigger to discharge the striker first, and other additional feats to enhance the reliability of the HiPer in harsh conditions or adverse environments. Further information, however, will be available only upon the official product launch at EUROSATORY.