Knights Armament PDW
Knight's Armament Company · Personal Defense Weapon · Prototype · 2006
Also known as: KAC PDW, Knight's Armament 6x35mm PDW, KAC Compact PDW
Overview
The Knight's Armament Company PDW is a select-fire personal defense weapon designed around the proprietary 6x35mm KAC/TSWG cartridge. Developed beginning in 2005 for the U.S. interagency Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), it was intended to bridge the gap between submachine guns and short-barreled assault rifles, delivering rifle-class terminal performance from a barrel as short as 8 inches with substantially less recoil and muzzle blast than 5.56 NATO from a comparable barrel length. The design uses dual gas pistons flanking a single central recoil spring and an AK-style rotating bolt mounted in an M4-pattern receiver, allowing operators familiar with the AR platform to transition without retraining.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 2000 g (70.5 oz) |
| Overall Length | 711 mm (27.99") |
| Folded Length | 495 mm (19.49") |
| Barrel Length | 254 mm (10.00") |
| Action Type | Gas Operated Short Stroke |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 30 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 750 m/s (2461 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 1127 J (831 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 300 m (328 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 700 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Aluminum |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Polymer |
| Finish | Anodized |
Calibers
- 6x35mm KAC/TSWG · primary — also known as 6x35mm KAC, 6x35mm TSWG, .243 KAC
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic, Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Ambidextrous Safety Selector, Manual Safety
- Features: Dual Gas Piston System, Single Central Recoil Spring, Ak Style Bolt Group, M4 Pattern Ergonomics, Telescoping Stock, Ambidextrous Controls, Free Floating Barrel, Picatinny Top Rail
Variants
- KAC PDW 8" Barrel — Compact
- KAC PDW 10" Barrel — Standard
Production
Estimated total produced: 200 · Production years: 2006-2015
Prototype and limited evaluation runs only; never entered mass production. Exact figures not public - estimate based on demonstration and trial unit reporting.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: C. Reed Knight Jr. / Knight's Armament Company
Notes
Never adopted in significant numbers. Public test-fire and prototype demonstrations occurred from 2006 through the early 2010s. The proprietary 6x35mm cartridge was made exclusively by Hornady for KAC and is not commercially available. The design influenced later small-frame PDWs and intermediate cartridge programs.
Background
The KAC PDW is the gun the U.S. counterterrorism community wanted in the mid-2000s - rifle lethality from a stockless platform that could be drawn from a chest rig and put rounds on target inside a building or out to 300 metres. The proprietary 6x35mm cartridge was about a centimetre shorter than 5.56 NATO yet hit harder from short barrels, but the program never broke through to procurement and the round remained a Hornady-exclusive curiosity.