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The weapon was designed to penetrate Soviet body armor with an ergonomic and easy to use platform - both the long arm and pistol. The latter was an armor piercing side arm for rear echelon personnel.
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The P90 itself was designed to meet the PDW requirements, which was to provide personnel who normally would only have a pistol with a weapon with superior penetration and hit rate to the pistol. The small size of the cartridge was designed to allow for a reduced recoil and increased rate of fire so as to facilitate use. The pistol was just a natural followon for those personnel who wouldn't even be issued the P90, or for those who buy combos.
It's worth noting that the armor specs that the P90 was designed to meet have evolved over time so that the 5.7 might not defeat armor confronted today.