Army To Hold New Pistol Competition Next Year

Discussion in 'Firearms' started by stg58, Dec 6, 2014.


  1. stg58

    stg58 Monkey+++ Founding Member

    This will be an interesting competition seeing if the the Army goes to a Glock or M & P without an external hammer.

    You can wager the drinks will be flowing with no holds barred unlimited expense accounts on this half a million pistols contract.

    Many could argue they already have the best pistol...the 1911A1..


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    U.S. Army weapons officials announced it plans to launch a competition to replace the M9 9mm pistol in January after a recent meeting with interested pistol makers.

    Program Executive Office Soldier hosted a third industry day for the Modular Handgun System Oct. 28-29 – an event that drew representatives from 20 companies, according to Debi Dawson, spokeswoman for PEO Soldier.

    Attendees discussed the Army’s draft solicitation for the new weapon system, which will replace the current M9 standard Army sidearm, Dawson said in an Oct. 31 Army news release. The Army issued the draft solicitation, which identifies design and performance requirements for the new handgun system, Sept. 29. The draft solicitation calls for a commercially available weapon tailored to the unique needs of the military services.

    The solicitation specified no particular caliber, but the Army is seeking a handgun system that outperforms its current sidearm. The Army is also seeking a modular weapon, meaning it allows adjustments to fit all hand sizes.


    Since the M9 entered the Army’s inventory in 1986, handgun technology has advanced significantly with the introduction of lighter weight materials, ergonomics and rails for accessories, Dawson said. Through the competition, the Army intends to replace the M9 with a state-of-the-art handgun.

    Current plans call for the Army to purchase more than 280,000 handguns from a single vendor, with delivery of the first new handgun systems scheduled for 2017. The Army also plans to buy approximately 7,000 sub-compact versions of the handgun. The other military services participating in the MHS program may order an additional 212,000 systems above the Army quantity.

    Army officials plan to release a final solicitation for the MHS in January, Dawson said in the release.

    The Army held two previous industry days at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., Dec. 18, 2013, and July 29. The purpose of these industry days was to enhance vendor-government communications by involving likely competitors throughout the planning process. The days also allowed the Army to obtain their feedback on whether the products and proposed strategy are achievable and affordable.

    During the industry day meetings, Army representatives discussed details about the “more accurate, ergonomic, reliable, durable and maintainable” handgun system the service seeks to buy through full and open competition, Dawson said.

    Throughout the process, the Army encouraged industry attendees to suggest ways in which the Army can improve the plan and process. The Army has adopted a number of suggestions and ideas, according to the release.

    The competition itself will choose a handgun that performs best in the hands of warfighters who will play a critical part in the evaluation. More than 550 military personnel from all of the services will participate and provide feedback on the performance of each of the candidate system after firing them in simulated combat scenarios. This particular warfighter assessment is an important part of the evaluation process.

    The Army spent years on an effort to search for a replacement for its M4 carbine, but ended up terminating the competition before it was complete and adopting the improved M4A1 version used by special operations forces.

    Beretta officials maintain that the company has offered to upgrade M9 many times. The Marine Corps adopted the M9A1 in 2006 that features a rail for attaching lights or lasers, checkering on the front and back of the grip and a beveled magazine well for smoother magazine changes.


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    Will the Military Pistol Contract Return to American Hands? - Businessweek

    For gun manufacturers, no customer rivals the Pentagon for prestige and revenue potential. That’s why, after years of anticipation, firearm makers are mobilizing for the U.S. Army’s imminent competition to replace the Beretta M9 pistol, the American soldier’s standard sidearm since 1985.

    The procurement process for several hundred thousand new pistols formally begins in January and is expected to last about two years. Based on more than 15 years of reporting on the gun business, I’d identify the early favorites as a much-improved Smith & Wesson (SWHC), which enjoys a made-in-the-USA marketing edge, and the formidable Glock of Austria.

    For a second opinion, I asked longtime industry consultant and former National Rifle Association organizer Richard Feldman for some snap handicapping. “Beretta starts with a 30-year history of supplying the Army, and that counts for something,” said Feldman, now the president of the Independent Firearm Owners Association, an advocacy group based in Rindge, N.H. “S&W, which lost a lot of police and civilian business to Glock in the 1980s and 1990s, has transformed itself into a modern firearm manufacturing enterprise with much better quality than in the past. Glock, barely in existence the last time this contract was up, is undeniably a powerful contender.”
     
  2. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    I really like the S&W M&P product...... I wish them good luck in the competition.
    I never liked the Beretta M9 though I did shoot it well.... I feel much more natural at shooting the M&P, than I ever did with the M9!!
     
    sec_monkey likes this.
  3. RouteClearance

    RouteClearance Monkey+++

    I was active duty when the 1911A1 was replaced by the M9. This in itself was the biggest blunder the DOD has done regarding small arms procurements. We have had the MA Deuce .50 for damn near 100 years, yet I have heard no calls to replace it. It has been that good of a weapon.
     
    Yard Dart likes this.
  4. gunbunny

    gunbunny Never Trust A Bunny

    Oh no, not that again! Don't they keep doing this every year or two? They keep threatening to replace the M9, get a bunch of manufacturers together, and then order more M9's and cancel the show.

    Someday they will have to come to a decision to replace the turd or not. I was a teenager when they held the first competition, and I was surprised/shocked/dissapointed when Beretta got the contract. I understand that Ruger was a jamma-matic, and Glock and Beretta were foreign made. It was the last one on the list I would have ever thought they would have selected, I seriously thought S&W would have wound up getting the contract.

    With stupid operating system stolen from the Walther P-38, the Beretta had nothing over any of the other competitors. Except maybe people with money and power that held stock in the company, that is.

    Maybe this time around, they'll award the contract to Hi-Point Arms.
     
    Seawolf1090 likes this.
  5. Pyrrhus

    Pyrrhus Monkey+++

    Can you imagine reading the latest Tom Clancy, I mean Vince Flynn, I mean whoever, novel where the protagonist "quietly drew his Hi-Point pistol and peeked around the corner"?
     
    gunbunny and Yard Dart like this.
  6. gunbunny

    gunbunny Never Trust A Bunny

    I know, I'm an ethnocentrist gun snob. I've owned inexpensive guns in my lifetime.

    I was just making light of the whole "competition" selection process, especially when we all know the winner was selected long before the competition would be held. They can change the rules to suit their needs, thus the winner can be accredited with the coveted prize of: "If the US military uses it, it must be the best" moniker I've heard so many times in the past. And still do.
     
  7. mysterymet

    mysterymet Monkey+++

    I say we send hi points to the Iraqi army. That way, when they surrender them to the Isis guys it's safer for us when we have to fight them.
     
  8. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    Naw, just have another "accidental" air drop for the good guys in the wrong area, again. A full cargo of these, and lots of ammo[​IMG]
     
  9. Grand58742

    Grand58742 Monkey+++

    It will get interesting for certain. With so many manufacturers out there putting out decent handguns these days, I'd imagine this competition will get interesting.

    I wouldn't discount H&K with a VP9 entry or Sig with the 320 though. And likely Glock will have to modify their entry with an external safety.

    All in all, competition is good and it will translate over to the civilian market after a while.
     
    Yard Dart likes this.
  10. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    Going to the Hi-Point would be a move towards better reliability, though it's clunky and heavy. Good shooter though. Has anyone done a 'desert sand test' of it?
    On my Navy ship in the early 80's we still had our Colt M1911A1s, but they were worn out rattle traps. In our case, the M9 would have been an improvement, but we didn't 'go to war' with it. When we got miffed at someone, we lobbed in a few Five Inch shells, done deal...... o_O

    I expect, IF this deal goes through (unlike the last several attempts to get a new pistol) it will go to HK or SW.
     
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