SIG SAUER‘s M17 and M18 handguns have been the US military’s official successors to the venerable Beretta M9 since 2017. Both of these 9mm models have been gradually phasing in with units across the branches over the last several years, with civilian-market versions also available for sale. These pistols feature an optics-cut slide as standard, and now SIG has developed a purpose-built optic to suit. Meet the new ROMEO-M17 red dot. Revealed a few months ago at SHOT Show, SIG has now advised that the ROMEO-M17 is coming soon and provided us with additional information about it. Check out the details in the press release copied below.

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• [SIG Sauer 2023] The Toughest Pistol Optic Ever Made? The New Sig Romeo M17
• SIG Sauer M18-Commemorative Edition Pistol – Your Piece of History

The ROMEO-M17 is designed for the single-screw SIG-LOC mounting interface, and may not fit older civilian-market M17/18 P320 models. Check fitment before purchasing. A commercially-compatible version is on the way.

SIG SAUER Electro-Optics Introduces the Next Revolution in Red-Dot Optics: THE ROMEO-M17

NEWINGTON, N.H., (April 14, 2023) – SIG SAUER Electro-Optics is proud to introduce theROMEO-M17 pistol mounted red dot sight. Developed from the ground up for the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System to be the ultimate in performance, reliability and durability. The ROMEO-M17 is designed specifically to fit U.S. Military Modular Handgun System M17/M18 pistols, M17/M18 Commemorative Special Editions and M17/M18 Surplus pistols with a single hole in the slide to secure the sight plate. It does not fit standard P320 or commercial P320-M17/M18 slides. Commercial variations of compatible pistols and slides will be available in the coming months.

“The fully sealed ROMEO-M17 is the next revolution in red dot optics; it answers the call to withstand the rigors of the battlefield and works seamlessly with the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System,” said Andy York, President, SIG SAUER Electro-Optics. “The ROMEO-M17 is the first red dot sight to incorporate SIG SAUER’s patent-pending SIG-LOC™ mounting system. SIG-LOC (Leveraged Optimized Connection) features a new proprietary bottom-mount technology that has multiple interface features between the pistol slide and the optic that provides for an extremely strong and robust lock-up. This new mounting system, when combined with the side-mounted battery on the ROMEO-M17, allows the optic to have an extremely low position when mounted to the slide, giving the user a full sight picture and co-witness with the existing standard-height iron sights. This sight was engineered, tested, and built-in Oregon to be the ultimate aiming solution for the MHS pistols.”

The SIG SAUER Electro-Optics ROMEO-M17 is a mil-spec, fully enclosed and gas-purged red dot reflex sight with a distortion-free glass aspheric lens, and is submersible to depths up to 35 meters. Other features include a new and very robust flexure-arm adjustment system made of the same Beryllium Copper found in many riflescope designs, and a housing that is forged and machined from 7075 Aluminum with an integrated loaded chamber indicator (LCI) gas deflector and machined anti-reflection grooves on all rear facing surfaces for reduced glare. The optic incorporates a high-efficiency point source red LED emitter, with 2 MOA dot/32 MOA circle reticle, independent brightness adjustment buttons, 15 brightness settings including night vision settings, and a side-mounted CR2032 battery compartment with a threaded battery cap so the optic does not need to be removed from the pistol for battery changes. The ROMEO-M17 has a minimum continuous runtime of 50,000 hours at medium brightness setting, and utilizes MOTAC™ (Motion Activated Illumination), MAGNETAC™ (Magnetic Activation), and D.A.R.C™ (Dark Adaptive Reticles & Coatings) technologies.

“The ROMEO-M17 is the pinnacle of pistol-mounted red dot optics, and we are immensely proud that it has been tested and selected to receive a NATO Stock Number (NSN) from the U.S. Army so this innovative technology and ruggedized performance is easily attainable and available to our warfighters,” concluded York.

The SIG SAUER Electro-Optics ROMEO-M17 is designed, developed, tested and fully assembled in the U.S.A.

ROMEO-M17 Specs:

Objective Lens Diameter: 24mm
Reticle: Circle dot with 2 MOA Red Dot / 32 MOA Circle
Lens Type: Asphere
Brightness Adjustment Settings: 15 (12 Day / 3 Night Vision)
Water Resistance: Submersible to 35 meters (115 feet)
Overall Length: 2.4 inches
Overall Width: 0.9 inches
Overall Height: 1.1 inches
Mounting Footprint: SIG-LOC™ MHS
Battery Type: CR2032
Battery Location: Side
Weight (w/o battery): 1.5 ounces

For more information about the SIG SAUER Electro-Optics ROMEO-M17 or watch the product video please visit sigauer.com.

The ROMEO-M17’s reticle is switchable between circle+dot, dot only, or circle only modes, and features 15 brightness settings, three of which are for night vision.

Among the ROMEO-M17’s key features, its durability is advertised as one of its most important. Given the context of its intended primary military use, this makes sense. That said, plenty of commercial market M17/18 P320 users will also value toughness in their gear, so this optic has the potential to be useful outside of combat duty as well. That said, please be sure to confirm compatibility before ordering, as not all of SIG’s handguns use the same optics mounting interface. With some exceptions, like the M18 Commemorative model, most prior releases of commercial M17 or M18 P320 variants do not use the military’s single-screw “SIG-LOC” mounting interface. SIG has indicated that civilian SIG-LOC handguns and slide models are coming later, as well as a subsequent version of the ROMEO-M17 that will fit the optics mounts on prior M17/18 P320s. Just be sure to confirm compatibility before you buy, and be aware that you may need to wait for a later release. Otherwise, what do you think of this new optic? Will you be picking one up or giving them a pass, and why? Let us know in the comments! See you at the range.

Images courtesy of SIG SAUER.