KRISS Vector
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The KRISS Vector is a series of weapons based upon the parent
submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...
design developed by the American company KRISS USA, formerly Transformational Defense Industries (TDI). Designed in 2006 and seeing limited production since 2009, the KRISS Vector uses an unconventional delayed blowback system combined with in-line design to reduce perceived
recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, for according to Newton's third law the force requ ...
and
muzzle climb Muzzle rise, muzzle flip or muzzle climb refers to the tendency of a firearm's or airgun's muzzle (front end of the barrel) to rise up after firing. It more specifically refers to the seemingly unpredictable "jump" of the firearm's muzzle, cause ...
, invented by French engineer Renaud Kerbrat. The weapon is designed to accept extended
Glock Glock (; stylized as GLOCK) is a brand of polymer- framed, short-recoil-operated, striker-fired, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military an ...
magazines and fires a variety of pistol cartridges.


History

In the spring of 2007, TDI announced their development of a new submachine gun. It was an experimental weapon under advanced stages of development at that time. The name ''Kriss'' comes from a Southeast Asian dagger with a flame-shaped blade. The second generation prototype of the Vector, called the ''K10'', was announced at 2011
SHOT Show The SHOT Show, which is an acronym for "Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show", is an American annual trade fair, trade show for the shooting sports, hunting, outdoor recreation, and firearm manufacturing industry (economics), industries. The ...
. It is a slightly more compact version of the Vector that is based on the same Super V system. The main difference is a redesign of the lower receiver intended for easy caliber interchangeability; utilizing just a single takedown pin, users can change between 9×19mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP by mounting different lower receivers. This also brought a redesign of the charging handle, which now travels diagonally, almost vertically, and can be mounted on either side of the weapon. Other notable differences were a new telescoping stock instead of a folding one, and a four-sided accessory rail tube around the barrel. The K10 was not displayed after SHOT Show 2013 and its status is unknown and likely has been canceled. Kriss announced "Gen II" versions of the original Vector models in 2015. These feature a redesigned pistol grip, trigger, safety selector, and compatibility with a new 9×19mm lower. These appear to have replaced the K10 prototypes, though no features from the K10 were carried over. At the 2024 SHOT Show, Kriss unveiled the "Gen III" vector. This new generation has a redesigned upper housing that has a slimmer profile and is also lighter compared to the "Gen II". Further updates include an ambidextrous magazine release, the replacement of the handguard's
Picatinny rail The 1913 rail (MIL-STD-1913 rail) is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mount ...
with an
M-LOK M-LOK, for Modular Lock, is a firearm Rail Integration System, rail interface system developed and patented by Magpul Industries. The license is free-of-charge, but subject to an approval process. M-LOK allows for direct accessory attachment ...
mounting system and improved trigger handling.


Design

The Vector uses an articulated mechanism referred to as the "Kriss Super V", which allows the bolt and an inertia block to move downward into a recess behind the magazine well. The theory is that at the end of this travel, the energy is transmitted downward rather than rearward, thus reducing the felt recoil. When fired, the barrel axis is in line with the shoulder as in the
M16 rifle The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States Armed Forces, United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm NATO, 5.56×45mm automatic ...
, but also in line with the shooter's hand. This is intended to reduce
muzzle climb Muzzle rise, muzzle flip or muzzle climb refers to the tendency of a firearm's or airgun's muzzle (front end of the barrel) to rise up after firing. It more specifically refers to the seemingly unpredictable "jump" of the firearm's muzzle, cause ...
when combined with the off-axis bolt travel, though it also greatly raises the sight line in comparison to the bore axis. The initial prototype model by TDI achieved a rate of fire of 1,500 rounds per minute, though this was brought down to around 1,200 rounds per minute on the production models. Civilian models are limited to semi-automatic only. The Vector is split into two major assemblies in a similar manner to the  AR-15 rifle, secured together with four push pins. Due to the weapon's unusual layout, the lower contains the action, charging handle, magazine well and barrel, while the upper contains the ejection port, rail system, pistol grip and fire control components, as well as the stock for configurations that have one. This modular design allows for toolless caliber conversions by swapping out only the lower. The Vector's safety is ambidextrous (as well as the fire mode selector on the auto trigger pack) while the ejection port, charging handle, bolt release catch and magazine release are not, and are only available in a right-handed configuration. Calibers such as .22 LR, .40 S&W and
9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO or simply 9mm) is a Rim (firearms)#Rimless, rimless, Centerfire ammunition, centerfire, tapered cartridge (firearms), firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer ...
were mentioned when the gun was first released. The Generation II versions with multiple design changes including a new 9mm variant were confirmed at SHOT Show 2015, though the .22LR version had yet to materialize and was thought to have been canceled up until SHOT Show 2020, when they announced its release. Vectors chambered in .45 ACP are designed to accept standard Glock 21 pistol magazines. A special "MagEx 30" kit was available to convert a factory 13-round .45 ACP Glock magazine to an extended high-capacity version, but was later marketed as a "25+" round kit. Vectors chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum use standard
Glock 17 Glock (; stylized as GLOCK) is a brand of polymer- framed, short-recoil-operated, striker-fired, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military an ...
magazines. In 2019, KRISS released the "MagEx2" which extends the capacity of a factory standard Glock Magazine. The MagEx 2 is available in 9mm for an overall capacity of 40 rounds, 33 rounds of 10mm and 30 rounds of .45 ACP.


Variants

The KRISS Vector has undergone two generations of modification. The ''Gen I'' version is the baseline model of the Vector family. It was later replaced by the improved ''Gen II'' version which features a redesigned pistol grip and trigger and has the swing angle of the
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
lever reduced from 120 to 45 degrees. It also eliminates the opening above the barrel for the original weapon's optional Surefire weapon light, since these are no longer manufactured. In addition to the original Flat Black finish, optional factory Cerakote coatings now come in Olive Drab (green), Flat Dark Earth (tan), Alpine (white), or Combat Gray. The ''Vector SMG'' variant is only available for military and law enforcement use. It features a 5.5-inch barrel (with an option of a 6.5-inch barrel on the Gen II version), a folding stock, flip-up Midwest Industries back-up iron sights (BUIS) (KRISS Sights on Gen II weapons), a full-length Picatinny rail for mounting various optics/scopes, and either two mode fire selector (single and full-auto) or a three mode fire selector (single, two-round burst and full-auto). It is only sold as a complete weapon in .45 ACP and 9×19mm Parabellum; Due to the nature of the weapon the auto trigger pack is not compatible with any Vector lower. The 9mm model uses
Glock 17 Glock (; stylized as GLOCK) is a brand of polymer- framed, short-recoil-operated, striker-fired, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military an ...
-compatible magazines (typically the extended 33-rounder used by the Glock 18) and the .45-caliber model uses Glock 21 magazines. Semi-automatic variants are produced and available for the US civilian market. There are three main configurations, the Vector CRB, Vector SBR and Vector SDP. In addition to
9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO or simply 9mm) is a Rim (firearms)#Rimless, rimless, Centerfire ammunition, centerfire, tapered cartridge (firearms), firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer ...
and
.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol), also known as .45 Auto, .45 Automatic, or 11.43×23mm is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After su ...
, they can also be chambered in .40 S&W (using Glock 22 magazines),
10mm Auto The 10mm Auto (also known as the 10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a powerful and versatile semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and l ...
(using Glock 20 magazines), or .357 SIG (using Glock 31 magazines). A variant chambered for 9×21mm IMI that feeds from standard 9×19mm Glock 17 magazines is available for the Italian civilian market. The .22 LR variant feeds from a proprietary 10-round magazine, and functions using a traditional straight blowback operating system rather than the Super V delayed system. The Canadian (and some American) civil market versions only come with the blocked 10-round magazines rather than the full capacity magazines. Like the Law Enforcement / Military SMG models, the civilian model Vectors can be converted to chamber and fire other calibers if the lower receiver groups are changed. * The ''Vector CRB'' (carbine) is a semi-automatic carbine with a permanently affixed barrel shroud to the standard 5.5-inch barrel, extending it to , intended for states with short-barrel rifle bans, with an 18.6-inch (470 mm) version produced for the Canadian market. The standard model has a folding stock (fixed in states where state law prohibits). Variants exist for compliance with various state gun laws, including a California-legal "featureless" variant with a Kydex grip-wrap barrier (prohibits gripping the back of the pistol grip), a hand stop replacing the usual vertical foregrip, and a permanently affixed Defiance DS150 stock to give an overall length of 36.5-inch (930 mm). * The ''Vector SBR'' (''Short Barrel Rifle'') is a semi-automatic short-barreled configuration featuring the same 5.5-inch barrel as the selective fire submachine gun. * The ''Vector SDP'' (''Special Duty Pistol'') is a semi-automatic pistol configuration that has a permanently affixed cap with a sling mount in place of a folding stock. There is also a configuration of the Vector SDP fitted with an SB Tactical arm brace called the ''Vector SDP-SB'' (''Special Duty Pistol – Stabilizing Brace''). The "Enhanced" versions of the Gen II CRB and SBR are also available with collapsing M4-style stock adaptors instead of the standard folding stock (with a Magpul UBR stock included) and a rectangular
barrel shroud A barrel shroud is an external covering that envelops (either partially or full-length) the barrel of a firearm to prevent unwanted direct contact with the barrel (e.g. accidental collision with surrounding objects or the user accidentally touch ...
for the CRB, though these accessories can also be purchased separately.


Derivatives

KRISS announced development of a semi-automatic pistol called the " KRISS KARD" in 2010, using the Super V system in a much smaller package to minimize recoil and muzzle rise in 9×19mm Parabellum and .45 ACP calibers. It does not have a blowback slide, instead it has a T-shaped cocking handle on the rear. As TDI, KRISS also announced a
12-gauge shotgun The gauge (in American English or more commonly referred to as bore in British English) of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the inner diameter (bore diameter) and other necessary parameters to define in general a smoothbore barre ...
called the MVS and a .50 BMG
heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or ...
using a double Super V mechanism called the "Disraptor," but the Disraptor has not been mentioned since their name change, while the MVS was removed from the TDI website in late 2009.


Users

*: ''Gen II'' variant used by
Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare branch, and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and operations is ad ...
and ''Gen I'' variant used by
Bangladesh Police The Bangladesh Police () is the national law enforcement agency of Bangladesh, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs (Bangladesh), Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement of law and order with ...
. In January 2022, the Directorate General of Defence Purchase floated a tender to procure 100 ''Gen II'' variants. *: Used by Panamanian National Police. *: Used by
Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA (; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's sovereignty. The army was formed in 187 ...
and
Royal Thai Police The Royal Thai Police (RTP) (; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excluding the military and the employees of state-owned enterprises). The R ...
.


See also

*
CZ Scorpion Evo 3 The CZ Scorpion EVO 3 is a 9mm carbine manufactured by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod, the select-fire submachine gun variant is designated A1, and the Semi-automatic firearm, semi-automatic variant is designated S1. The EVO 3 designation denot ...
* Daewoo Telecom K7 *
FAMAE SAF The FAMAE SAF is a submachine gun produced and manufactured by FAMAE (''Fábricas y Maestranzas del Ejército'') since 1993. Since 1999, Taurus have produced the SAF under license in .40 S&W for Brazilian law enforcement. Semi-automatic-only v ...
*
FN P90 The FN P90 is a personal defense weapon chambered for the 5.7×28mm cartridge, also classified as a submachine gun, designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. Created in response to NATO requests for a replacement for 9×19mm Parabe ...
* Heckler & Koch MP7 *
SR-2 Veresk The SR-2 "Veresk" (, English: Calluna, Heather) is a Russian submachine gun designed to fire the 9×21mm Gyurza pistol Cartridge (firearms), cartridge. History Development of a new submachine gun chambered for the 9×21mm Gyurza cartridge (also ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:KRISS Vector .40 S&W submachine guns .45 ACP submachine guns .357 SIG firearms 9mm Parabellum submachine guns 9×21mm IMI submachine guns 10mm Auto submachine guns .22 LR submachine guns Off-axis bolt travel blowback firearms Submachine guns of the United States Carbines Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2009