The Danish National Police have selected the SIG Sauer P320 as the replacement for the HK USP Compact currently in service. The USP Compacts have been in service for 25 years, the new pistols will be procured through SIG Sauer’s Danish representatives CT Solutions. The model of P320 and the number of pistols to be procured has not been announced, however, the Danish National Police has over 11,000 officers. The Danish Army selected the SIG Sauer P320 X-Carry in 2018.

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The Danish police’s announcement also noted that the selection of a new carbine for rapid reaction police patrols was underway with a contract to be signed in 2024. It is hoped that both the new carbine and the SIG P320s will be in service by the end of 2027.

Here’s the Danish Police’s announcement in full:

In the latest multi-year agreement, the police have been given financial resources to replace their weapons platform over a number of years. As a first, an agreement has now been concluded with CT Solutions for the delivery of the police’s new service pistol, the SIG Sauer P320.

In the latest multi-year agreement for the police and the prosecution, it has been decided that “new firearms will be acquired for the police, which will, among other things, simplify the weapons portfolio and future-proof the police’s weapons”.

After a lengthy process, the upgrading of the police’s weapons platform has now taken a big step, as the National Police and CT Solutions have both signed an agreement on the delivery of the police’s new service pistol on 7 November 2023.

“I am pleased that, after a thorough process, we have entered into a contract for the purchase of a new pistol. It has been a long time since we last upgraded our weapons platform, and it is important that our weapons are up-to-date and match our mission,” says national police chief Thorkild Fogde.

The choice has fallen on the SIG Sauer P320, which is produced by SIG Sauer and supplied to the police via CT Solutions. It is a combination of the gun’s technical ability, its comfort and maintenance requirements that – after extensive involvement of police shooters – has seen it run away with victory.

In order to retrain for the new weapon, the rollout of the new gun will be gradual and over a number of years. All police officers must go to the shooting range and learn how to operate the new gun before it can be put on the belt and on patrol. The entire police force is expected to have switched to the new pistol – as well as the new carbine, for which a contract must be entered into during the next year – before the end of 2027.

The choice is made on the basis of thorough tests

Prior to the conclusion of the contract, there has been a careful process of uncovering the police’s requirements for a new pistol, negotiating with manufacturers and suppliers and of course thoroughly testing the pistols.

More than 40 police officers have contributed during the process, with the majority of them helping to test the pistols included in the tender. The test group was composed of police officers across the entire Commonwealth and divided into shooting levels, gender, job function and left-/right-handed shooters.

The user test consisted, among other things, of a long series of shootings, where the pistols were tested under different conditions, e.g. shooting with a high heart rate, while moving, with icy hands and with changing targets.

The current service pistol has 25 years behind it

With the purchase of new weapons, the police is simplifying its weapons platform and going from the current three to two firearms.

The SIG Sauer P320 is to replace the current H&K USP Compact service pistol, which was introduced into the Danish police in 1998 and is thus 25 years old, while a new carbine is to replace both the H&K MP5 submachine gun, which was introduced into the Danish police in 1986, and the Colt carbine Canada M/10, which since 2012 has been on loan from the Armed Forces to the police’s reaction patrols.

The process of purchasing a new carbine is progressing according to plan and is expected to result in a supplier contract during the next year. Both weapon types are expected to be fully phased in by the police before the end of 2027.