In a surprising piece of news, Springfield Armory has won a contract in Brazil to deliver 4,400 .40 S&W submachine guns. The gun, known as the Kuna, has been adopted by the Military Police of the State of Sao Paulo, aka the PMESP. The weapon will be delivered with Meprolight M5 sights and flip-down backup sights.
This is surprising for several reasons. First, who knew Springfield Armory produces submachine guns? Second, it’s surprising that Brazil chose an American company instead of a Brazilian company. In fact, Taurus seems to provide a wide variety of weapons to various police forces in Brazil.
The Kuna – An Enigma
I’ve never heard of the Kuna, never seen Springfield mention it, never seen it pop up at SHOT Show. It’s not a submachine gun version of the Saint, but rather its own fairly interesting little submachine gun. The words Springfield Armory Genovese Illinois are printed on the gun, so it’s not some other foreign company that just shares a name with the American Springfield Armory.
The Kuna series has a very modern look and gives off serious B&T/CZ vibes. The gun seems to be constructed with a healthy amount of polymer. The magazines appear to be transparent, and the pistol grip looks like an AR-15 grip. Controls also appear to be fully ambidextrous. There aren’t a ton of photos of the gun out there, but it’s clearly a very modern gun.
The stock appears to collapse and fold, and the barrel measures out to 6.5 inches. There appear to be some M-LOK slots on the handguard, but not much.
Springfield Armory has partnered with HS Produkt in the past to import weapons to the United States. I tried to find any record of the Kuna within HS Produkt and came up short. I don’t know if this weapon was produced in the United States by a Brazilian extension of Springfield Armory or by another company with Springfield Armory that handled sales and distribution.
If Springfield is producing the gun in the United States and exporting it, this would be a new genre for them to enter. According to the Gun Trade, a foreign gun website, the guns will be launched at SHOT Show 2025, so maybe I can get some more answers in January.
The Kuna – The Military Tests
The Springfield Armory Kuna reportedly fired 40,000 rounds with only four failures, which is impressive. Other websites list the gun as available in 9mm and .40 S&W, but Sao Paulo military police chose .40 S&W to match their sidearm. According to Brazilian news agencies, the Kuna will be wielded by specialist groups.
The Kuna series competed against the B&T APC40 and the M40 from Steyr Arms. The M40 is an AR-type SMG that uses Glock mags and the .40 S&W round. Both are likely great guns, and the B&T model has a decent history of service. I also imagine the B&T and Steyr guns cost a pretty penny.
The Kuna is a mysterious little gun, but I’m very curious about it, and I hope SHOT can shine some light on the design. Maybe we’ll see a brace, larger format pistol version sooner than later.
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