Originally issued only to vehicle crews as an emergency weapon, the compact Submachine Gun (SMG) became widely used during the Insurrection. It was particularly favored by paramilitary police units and UNSC special operations units tasked with rooting out rebel units based in orbital habitats and cluttered urban environments.
Although the UNSC is currently trialing a replacement, the M7 remains the current production model of the SMG. Cheap, efficient, compact, and extremely lightweight, the M7’s use will doubtlessly endure long after it leaves front-line service.
The M7S, fitted with a telescopic smart-link optic and M49 sound suppressor was standard-issue to ODST units and UNSC commando units.
M20: The M20 uses a new, high-velocity armor-piercing round developed to both counter the proliferation of advanced body armor among rebel forces and increase the amount of kinetic energy dumped into energy shielding. It features a top-mounted box magazine, retractable stock, folding foregrip, smart-link electronics, and compatibility with all UNSC weapon accessories. Well-balanced, the M20 can be fired one-handed with the stock retracted.
M7: Cheap, efficient, compact, and extremely lightweight, hundreds of thousands of M7 SMGs remain in service with paramilitary police units, Insurrection guerrillas, and militia forces throughout the human sphere. Though its M443 5x23mm caseless telescoped ammunition is not used by other UNSC weapons, it is a common round in the civilian market and relatively easy to manufacture.