Harrington & Richardson has just announced the CLET 9mm AR, a tribute to the iconic Colt SMG DEA model.
In the 1980s, the MP5 was still the gold standard of police and military submachine guns, and Colt wanted a piece of the pie. This resulted in the Colt 9mm SMG which boasted a familiar manual of arms and some parts compatibility with standard AR-15s. The plan didn’t go as well as Colt had hoped, with most SMG users opting to stick with the venerable MP5, but it did result in a few very interesting designs that were adopted and used by a handful of different departments. Possibly the coolest variant was used by the Drug Enforcement Agency and became known as the DEA model, and PSA/Harrington & Richardson just announced a 9mm AR pistol model inspired by it called the CLET.
CLET stands for “Clandestine Laboratory Eradication Team”, likely a homage to the meth lab raids that DEA agents used their SMGs for. Besides being select-fire, the real DEA model Colt SMGs sported an integral suppressor underneath their full-length round M16 handguards. Unfortunately, the H&R CLET is neither select-fire nor suppressed, but it does do a great job of looking the part. Practically speaking, the longer handguard does at least provide more grip real estate than the standard 635 or DOE 9mm AR models (both of which H&R also makes clones of). You also get better ballistics with the CLET, as the longer handguard is hiding a 13-inch barrel. The muzzle is threaded 5/8×24 and comes equipped with a handguard support cap. As a pistol, the CLET ships with H&R’s retro brace, and it feeds from 32- or 20-round Colt-pattern 9mm magazines.
While it’s understandable that the CLET ships as a non-NFA item, it will be very exciting to see if any enterprising gunsmiths can use it as a host to make a true integrally suppressed clone of the original DEA model. PSA is offering the H&R CLET as either a complete pistol (MSRP $1,150) or a standalone upper (MSRP $700) in both standard and BLEM condition grades.
For more information, visit palmettostatearmory.com.
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