The Smith & Wesson M&P (Military and Police) is a polymer-framed, short recoil operated, locked breech semi-automatic pistol introduced in the summer of 2005 by the American company Smith & Wesson. It uses a Browning-type locking system. While targeted at law enforcement agencies,[1] the M&P is also available on the commercial market.
The M&P is a completely new design with no parts interchangeable with any other pistol, including the polymer framed Smith & Wesson Sigma and Walther/Smith & Wesson SW99 models. The M&P design not only looks completely different than the Sigma but also feels completely different. Many of the ergonomic study elements that had been incorporated into the Sigma and the SW99 were brought over to the M&P. The improved trigger weight and feel, and unique takedown method (not requiring a dry pull of the trigger) were meant to set the M&P apart from both the Sigma and the popular Glock pistols.
The M&P is available in 9x19mm Parabellum, .357 SIG, and .40 S&W calibers in either a full-size version (with a 108 mm (4.25 in) barrel) or a compact version (with a 89 mm (3.5 in) barrel.
