The Swiss-American compact gun experts at B&T are promising a folding personal defense chassis that hides in plain sight. 

The planned BWC9 in its 11.7-inch folded form has an integrated carry handle and looks sort of like a nondescript old-school boom box or...well...something other than a pistol. Then, with a flick of the wrist, it unfolds and locks into place as a 22-inch rifle if needed, an Aimpoint ACRO P-2 micro red dot providing sights. 

In other words, going from this: 
 

To this: 
 

The chassis is being sold as an accessory – no FFL required – and users simply add their SIG P320 fire control unit and compatible slide assembly (Sub-Compact through X-Five length, including threaded barrels) to have an all-up firearm. 

Installation, as detailed by B&T in a video, takes about three minutes. 

The catch? Since the BWC9 has a stock when deployed, to remain on the happy side of the law, the user would have to register their pistol as an NFA-regulated Short Barreled Rifle with the ATF using Form 1. Our opinion is that is the NFA is outdated and misses the point, especially when it comes to SBRs, but no one listens to us. 

No word from B&T on whether they plan a pistol-only or carbine-length variant that, while maybe not as cool as the current BWC9, would cut out the NFA red tape. 
 

Chasing the Folding Pistol/SMG/PCC Dream

One isolated branch of subgun development has been in the arena of the somewhat covert and inconspicuous folding submachine gun — and it is indeed one weird branch of firearms.

This path started with Francis Warin's boxy ARES project in the 1970s – which used a German MP28 magazine, of all things – then quickly moved on Utah Connor's "boom box" (complete with collapsing antenna) style Undercover 9 or UC-9, and James Boatman's companion DEB M-21. The latter gained everlasting fame in 1990's "RoboCop 2." 
 

The Russians retaliated with the remarkably similar PP-90 in 9x18 Makarov and the PP-92 in 9mm Luger, while American designs faded into the bushes like Homer Simpson for a couple of decades.

Then, in 2008, Magpul reimagined the UC-9/M-21 in a concept gun that dropped the dated portable boom box disguise and updated the look to that of an extra laptop battery (which was a thing in 2008). Dubbed the FMG-9, it remained vaporware until Magpul succumbed to public demand in 2021 and announced the Folding Defensive Pistol-9 and a Folding Defensive Carbine-9 format using a ZEV OZ9 operating system and a Magpul chassis. 

While Magpul brought prototypes to the last two SHOT Shows since then, the FDP and FDC have yet to appear, which is something of a bummer. It seems you can’t just wish-cast something into existence. 
 

Either way, we are eager to get to SHOT Show 2024 and find out more.