The Walther P99 is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm

Ulm

Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...

 for law enforcement, security forces and the civilian shooting market as a replacement for the Walther P5

Walther P5

The Walther P5 is a 9mm semi-automatic pistol developed in the mid-1970s by the German small arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. It was designed with the German police forces in mind, who sought to replace existing 7.65mm pistols with a modern service sidearm incorporating enhanced...

 and the P88

Walther P88

The Walther P88 was a semiautomatic pistol developed by the Walther company of Germany in 1988, hence the model name P88. Its main feature was a high-capacity double-stacked magazine designed for military and law enforcement use....

. The P99 and its variants are also made under license by Fabryka Broni Radom.
Design work on this new generation sidearm began in 1994, and the handgun was presented in 1997 with series production commencing that same year.