Glock's Special Licensed Military & Law Enforcement Only Airsoft Pistols
Airsoft guns have long been a great tool for not only fun but also training. The mostly harmless plastic BBs of airsoft guns serve as a passable amalgamation of live fire with a nonlethal impact to let the receiving end know they’ve been hit. Airsoft enthusiasts may have entire collections of realistic copies of popular military firearms, however, there is one special licensed airsoft gun that only the US Armed Forces and police forces of about 48 countries have access to.
Glock’s Special Licensed Military & Law Enforcement Only Airsoft Pistols
Although the not standard issue in the US Military, Glock pistols are a popular choice for law enforcement agencies as well as special forces units within the military. Glock airsoft replicas are vehemently opposed by the company and often times shipments get confiscated by U.S. Customs and are unable to be sold in the US.
Glock imitations were often able to sneak through and made for sale but none of them quite hit the mark for authenticity. Usually, a dimension or two would be off in some respects and wouldn’t fit in holsters designed for the pistols they tried to copy. However, despite Glock fighting off other companies making copies of their world-renowned pistols, they finally licensed the production of Glock pistols to Umarex in 2017.
Umarex subsidiary, Elite Force ended up working with other companies to produce gas-powered replicas of the Glock 17 Gen 4 which amazingly includes replaceable backstraps. The company Spartan M&LE is Cybergun’s training replica division and the pistols produced by them are truly 1:1 replicas of Glock 17 Gen 3 and 4 as well as Glock 19 Gen 3 pistols and will fit Glock holsters.
Unfortunately for airsoft enthusiasts, Spartan M&LE Glocks are only sold to military and law enforcement personnel. The first Spartan Glocks were sold in bulk shipments by specialized military units and police departments but Spartan has now offered the option to Airsoft retailers to sell the replicas to properly identified personnel so that they can be purchased for personal use outside of the department’s training environment.
While it’s sad that these are currently only available to certain parties, we can take some comfort knowing that they’ve lifted the restrictions at least a little bit with their move to allow individual members of these entities to purchase the licensed copies. Maybe soon the rest of us will be able to get a copy for some fun, safe back yard practice.
All Photos Credit: Evike.com
Reloader SCSA Competitor Certified Pilot Currently able to pass himself off as the second cousin twice removed of Joe Flanigan. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ballisticaviation/
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MIL/LE only is a joke. It's pretty easy to get the "restricted" version.
Cybergun knows there's not enough of a market for MIL/LE training to fund bringing this to market. Glock says "MIL/LE only" but CG will sell it to any retailer that wants it and they in tern will sell to to whomever is willing to pay for it. CG then can say "Hey we only sold it to Retailers & MIL/LE agencies. It's not our fault the retailer violated your restrictions." Glock will put up with it because they're getting paid for doing nothing. Eventually CG will push things too far and Glock will terminate the licensing contract.
I worked for Cybergun for several years. I know how they operate.
I have a KWC G17c that I still use for dry fire training to this day. Its an incredibly close replica that fits my holsters perfectly. I can confidently do dry fire in my home with my children in the next room knowing there is zero chance of a life altering negligent discharge. When dry firing I personally make sure all of my live fire guns and ammo are locked up and in a different room before doing any dry fire.