Designer D. A. Bogdanov | Place of origin Russia Designed 1990s - 1998 | |
Weight 650 g (1.43 lb) (МР-448, МР-448C)590 g (21 oz) (Skyph-mini) | ||
The MP-448 Skyph (MP-448 Скиф) - a Russian pistol that was developed during the late 1990s by engineer-constructor and weapon designer Dmitry Bogdanov. It was initially offered by Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (IzhMech) for export sales and for private security companies as an enhanced version of the famous Makarov PM pistol (which is also manufactured by IzhMech).
Contents
Overview
The MP-448 is slightly smaller and 200 g lighter than the Makarov PM thanks to a polymer frame. Like the Makarov, it is chambered for the 9×18mm Makarov cartridge which is similar in performance to the .380 ACP, and uses a double-stacked 12-round magazine like the PMM variant. Because of the 9×18mm's lower pressure (20,000 psi vs the 9×19mm Luger's 35,000 psi), the MP-448 works by blowback operation.
Cancellation
There are no takers for this pistol because there are only marginal improvements in ergonomics and accuracy over the Makarov PM and the Skyph also costs more. Because of this, countries that still use the 9×18mm cartridge are sticking with the Makarov pistol. Russian military and paramilitary forces have switched to the more powerful 9×19mm Parabellum and as such are purchasing larger, more powerful and higher capacity pistols such as the MP-443 Grach and MP-446 Viking (also manufactured by Izhmash).