The Heckler & Koch P2000 is a German semi-automatic pistol introduced late in 2001 and intended primarily for law enforcement, paramilitary, and commercial markets. It is based on the USP Compact pistol. The P2000 was designed specifically with improved ergonomic characteristics; it has features that reduce handling related stresses, while at the same time increasing user handling and comfort. Design details From the success of the USP series, came the P2000. Originally designed for the German Customs organization, it was basically a requirement for an updated, more ergonomic version of the USP Compact, contoured for carry, adding a customizable grip and replacing the proprietary mounting rail with the one specific to a light they requested. Beyond securing this contract, it was the P2000, along with a number of the later introduced P2000SK as well as USP Compact LEM, that won the DHS/ICE contract discussed previously; a massive contract for the company. For that contract and for US civilian importation, the mounting rail was modified again to what was termed the “industry standard”, allowing access to a much wider range of products. Though rarely seen and extremely unusual is the original design request from German Customs. They wanted the LEM variant, which in Germany is referred to as CDA or Combat Defense Action, but oddly enough they also wanted a spurred hammer, side-mounted safety lever and a rear-mounted decocking lever, all three normally associated with DA/SA operation. Below is a cutaway drawing of that specific variant. Though the side-mounted safety lever is omitted to not block the internal components, clearly seen is the spurred hammer, LEM components and decocking lever. Also seen is the unique rail point, designed for the German issue light. Once specifically unique item added to the P2000 and P2000SK pistols that were delivered to the DHS/ICE contract was the inclusion of a small transponder chip into the left side of the steel insert of the grip frame. This can be seen in the photo of the cutaway training guns below. This chip served as an electronic gun data book, assessable from a PDA. It is unclear how extensively this option was exercised, but it was in the statement of work, so HK provided it. Other updates that were incorporated with the P2000 series included adding rubber base plates for the magazines. This helped dissipate energy during a magazine drop during reloads, thus extending the life of the