The Ares FMG is a folding submachine gun designed by Eugene Stoner while he was an owner of ARES Incorporated. Stoner designed the gun for concealment and covert use, describing it as a “businessman’s personal defense weapon”.
| Ares FMG | |
|---|---|
 Unfolded and folded FMGs | |
| Type | Folding submachine gun |
| Place of origin |  United States |
| Service history | |
| Used by | USSS & BATFE (unconfirmed report, 2001) |
| Wars | none known |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Eugene Stoner |
| Designed | 1986-12-02 (U.S. Patent # 4,625,621) |
| Manufacturer | ARES Incorporated |
| No. built | few |
| Variants | all reports of variants are fictional |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 2.09 kg (empty) 2.38 kg (loaded) |
| Length | 262 mm (folded) 503 mm (unfolded) |
| Barrel length | 220 mm |
| Cartridge | 9 mm Luger Parabellum |
| Action | blowback |
| Rate of fire | 650 round/min |
| Effective firing range | ~250 feet |
| Feed system | 20, 32 rounds |
The weapon has a unique architecture, in that it is designed to be fold into a box shape, but it can be unfolded and made ready to fire in a matter of seconds. When folded, the size is about the same as a cigarette carton, and the appearance is deliberately similar an old-fashioned metal commercial radio. It can be fitted with a small fake antenna if necessary. The only real version of the weapon was chambered for 9mm and had a 20- or a 32-round magazine.
Contrary to popular belief, the “Ares II” variant (from Robocop 2), is not related to the Ares FMG. It is an UC-M21 (see below).
Similar weapons
- UC-M21 “Radio-SMG” – 9mm folding submachine designed by Dave Boatman in the late 1980s. This is the weapon featured in Robocop 2, which was also only produced in limited numbers, and intended for government use.
- PP-90 – Russian 9mm folding submachine gun by KBP (1990s)