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I’m not sure if I was a gun guy or a sci-fi nerd first. I grew up in a shooting household, but my dad also took me to see the original Star Wars when it first came out in 1977. Maybe it was a parallel evolution. Either way, I love guns, and I love sci-fi, so I have a soft spot for sci-fi themed guns. It’s the best of both worlds.

Many times we see sci-fi guns in movies based upon real guns, like the blasters in Star Wars. You’re starting to see real guns being influenced by movies, and even more so games these days, though. Now, if you’re old and curmudgeonly you can insert something about “those damn kids” into the conversation about now. The reality is, though, that most of us were influenced by some sort of media, whether it was books and movies when I was a kid in the 70’s and 80’s, or video games for younger generations, when it comes to our interest in guns.

At the 2024 SHOT Show I got a chance to check out a couple new chassis systems from Strike Industries that either take some design queus right from video games or are going to end up in some future games or movies soon. Let’s take a look at the Strike Modular Chassis (SMC) Charlie platform for the SIG P320 and the Strike P90 chassis for the FN P90.

SMC Charlie Chassis for the SIG P320

The SMC Charlie platform is an evolution of the previous Bravo chassis. The Strike chassis are basically PDW platforms that take the SIG P320 Fire Control Unit (FCU), even ones that have a manual safety. The Bravo had a rear Picatinny attachment point for a brace or stock, ambidextrous QD sockets and a forward Pic rail for mounting lights, lasers or grips, including Strike’s mag well grip. The platform works especially well with Strike’s new Dual Folding stock or brace, which I’m hoping to check out closer in the future.

The Charlie carries over those features but adds a full length top Pic rail for more optics mounting space. The rear Pic rail is removable as is a full-length oversized triggerguard. It  also has a flared mag well and a built-in blast shield. It can use Strike’s P320 Ambi Charging Handle, but a larger one that will work better with the top rail is in the works.

Now, that all sounds pretty practical if you want to turn your P320 FCU into more of a PDW platform, so what makes it sci-fi? Well, when you see the pics there’s a good chance you’re going to see the influence right away. At least if you’re at all familiar with the extensive Halo video game series or newer TV series. It has a pretty distinctive look, and the Charlie platform captures that well. That doesn’t mean that it still won’t make a practical and functional weapons system.

I’m generally a Glock guy but I’ve been kicking around getting a P320 FCU just because of the modularity of it and all the build options. The Strike SMC Charlie is probably what’s going to push me to finally do it. Honestly I love the look, but it was also comfortable, it pointed and shouldered nicely, and the controls were easy to reach. Those features, coupled with the ability to make a slick braced or SBR’d PDW that’s truly 21st century, have got me hooked. The Charlie is expected to hit the market in the second or third quarter of 2024. Prices aren’t set yet but the Bravo is what I consider a very reasonable $129 so if it’s anywhere close to that it will be quite affordable.


Strike P90 Chassis
The Strike P90 chassis is for the 5.7x28mm FN P90 of course; another gun that’s already popular in a number of sci-fi shows, perhaps most notably the Stargate SG-1 series. The P90 looked high tech and sci-fi when it came out in 1990 and was used pretty much as is in a lot of movies and TV shows. Strike Industries has applied a little more of that Halo influence to the design and also added in some practical improvements as well.
The P90 chassis is still a prototype and the final form may change a bit. It will work with either P90 sub-machine guns or the semi-automatic PS90 in 16-inch barrel or SBR trim. The biggest thing you notice right away is a more vertical pistol grip with more room for your hand. It uses a 20-degree grip angle that most shooters will be more familiar, and more comfortable, with. It also has an adjustable cheek rest to accommodate whatever sights or optics you’re running, and an adjustable length of pull. There are four QD sling points on the chassis to allow for a variety of carry setups as well.
The  forward handguard has M-Lok slots in the 3, 9, 10 and 2 o’clock positions as well as a Picatinny rail in the 12 and 6 o’clock positions.The inner diameter of the handguard is big enough to fit Strike’s Oppressor Universal muzzle device, which means it should also work with a variety of suppressors.
I’s a good-looking rig and did seem more comfortable to me than the factory P90 stock setup. It offers a lot more modularity as well. Price point isn’t set yet, but the P90 chassis is expected to be releases in the third or fourth quarter of 2024. Although I’m a fan, picking up a P90 (which I would want to SBR) runs a bit more than just picking up a SIG P320 FCU, so I may see these in the movies before I get one for myself. Still, it’s a nice option if you already have a P90 and I will be encouraging my buddy, who does have one, to get a Strike chassis so I can at least shoot his!

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10 COMMENTS

  1. hmmm… I’ve got a new never been used P320 FCU someone gave me as part of a trade. I was originally going to use for a custom build project but changed my mind. So now I’m thinking maybe I will use it for one of these, might be fun.

  2. It’s the 21st century now space guns rule. Wood stocks are dead. Steel guns are dead. Long live polymer frames.

  4. I’ve got four or five SIG firearms, but neither of those models. If I did it would still be no thanks.

  6. Instead of a P90 chassis, build a chassis to invert the P50 (same mag but cheaper, shorter, half the weight, and non-NFA).

  7. i wish
    that i made enough money
    so i could waste it
    on stuff like this
    we should be so lucky
    that when the civil war happens
    antifa shows up to the fight
    with a bunch of crap like this
    because the fight will be over
    in about 20 minutes

    • Just remember, when antifa shows up to battle, the battlefield pick-up will likely be stolen…

  8. Depends on how close everything gets but yeah lot of large frame pistol options that can do things these couldn’t. Still neat ideas that are making a lot of design iterations that could accelerate if sbr/sbs get removed from the NFA let alone other features.

  9. Whoever thought it was a good idea to take pictures of black guns against black backgrounds must have attended the George Shearing School of Photography.

    For you youngsters, make that the Stevie Wonder School.

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