Officially announced on the US market on July 25, the Kel-Tec SUB-SDP 9mm Luger semi-automatic pistol is a new, civilian-grade personal defense weapon aimed at taking the personal, home, and property protection markets by storm.

The SUB-SDP is the first handgun variant of the Kel-Tec SUB2000 folding carbine – one of the most successful pistol-caliber carbines of all times, currently at its third generation and in production for 25 years – and like the SUB2000 it is blow-back operated and built around a high-impact, fiberglass-reinforced black Zytel receiver.

Like the Kel-Tec SUB2000 Gen.3, the new SUB-SDP features a front pivoting hinge block that allows the entire front portion – which hosts both the barrel and the handguard – not just to fold over the receiver, but also to pivot sideways so that the user won't need to remove any accessory before folding up the gun for storage or transportation.

The Kel-Tec SUB-SDP (like all variants of the SUB2000) can hold a magazine in its grip when folded, but can't be chambered or fired; this makes it perfect for those jurisdictions (including many South American Countries) that allow firearms to be transported in a vehicle at easy reach as long as they aren't ready to fire, and keeps the SUB-SDP out of the banned A8 category of firearms in the European Union.

The Kel-Tec SUB-SDP is available at launch in two variants: the baseline model, dubbed the "Nub Sub", features a 153 mm / 6" long barrel with a 1/2"-28 thread at the muzzle protected by a screw-on protector nut, as well as a black polymer handguard with a top Picatinny rail and M-LOK slots at 3, 6, and 9-o'clock for accessories.

The Kel-Tec SUB-SDP "Defender" comes instead with a vertical foregrip that dubs as a spare magazine holder, and a steel compensator and Vortex Crossfire red dot sight installed from factory.

Both models come with a black polymer armbrace, making the SUB-SDP legally a handgun on the US market and thus exempt from all Short Barrel Rifle regulations imposed by the 1934 National Firearms Act.

Recent changes introduced by the Trump Administration will make it easier for American shooters to SBR their SUB-SDP with a standard SUB2000 buttstock after filing the proper ATF Form 1.

European shooters won't have to go through such red tape, although any SUB-SDP exported into Europe will likely still come issued with an armbrace even if the $200 excise tax on SBRs has recently also been eliminated.