Made available through retailers on the US market in early April, the new Springfield Armory SA-35 4" 9mm Luger semi-automatic handgun is a compact-sized version of the SA-35 pistol, first introduced in October 2021 as Springfield Armory's own, faithful clone of the original Browning High Power – one of the world's most iconic sidearms of all time and the first double-stack "high capacity" 9mm Luger service pistol.

Used by military forces before and during World War II, after the war the Browning High Power became the most popular service pistol in the world, being adopted in numerous capacities by the military and police forces of almost 90 Countries – many of which still keep it in service – and remained in production with FN Herstal of Belgium for almost 80 years before being phased out in 2018.

The discontinuation didn't cause the Browning High Power's star to wane among the gun enthusiasts' community; over the last half century or so, numerous companies in many Countries set up production of Browning High Power clones, either for domestic service use or for commercial sales, and while Springfield Armory came late to the game, their SA-35 is definitely one of the most faithful and well-executed clones of the original High Power currently available.

Springfield Armory's new SA-35 4" compact pistol retains all the key features of its full-size counterpart, including a blued forged steel slide and frame, a single-action trigger with a rounded spur hammer and manual thumb safety located on the left side of the frame, as well as a finely manufactured set of checkered walnut grip panels.

All changes come down to the overall length – a shortened frame and slide bring it from the original 198 mm / 7.8" down to 180 mm / 7.1" – and to the barrel length, shortened to 101 mm / 4" down from the original 122 mm / 4,8". The barrel is still cold-hammer forged, and sports a 1:10" rifling pitch.

Other features that the SA-35 4" compact pistol shares with the full-size SA-35 include the recoil spring and guide rod, as well as the double-stack sheet metal magazine. As the grip height hasn't been changed, the SA-35 4" pistol feeds through Springfield Armory's own 15 rounds magazines – an two-rounds increase in capacity over the 13 rounds of the original Browning High Power.

An improved improved feed ramp design allows the SA-35 4" pistol to function reliably with modern defensive ammunition; a modern sight configuration with a  white dot front sight and serrated "Tactical Rack" rear sights of the SA-35 offers users an enhanced sight picture for improved performance.