#MHS

Ahead of this year’s SHOT Show, SIG Sauer held an independent range day at the Clark County Shooting Complex and one of the brand new products showcased there was a new enclosed pistol red dot optic from SIG’s electro optics division – the Romeo M17.

Surplus M17 pistols? Already? You’re probably thinking ‘but they’ve only just adopted the Modular Handgun System.’ You’re right but the reason these M17s are now available as surplus is because the US Army has decided to transition away from the original Coyote Tan controls to pistols with black finished controls (slide release, safety, trigger, etc). So the Army basically swapped the early pistols for new production guns, giving SIG Sauer a number of original surplus pistols to offer onto the market.

Last year SIG Sauer introduced the commercial version of their M17, the US military’s new service pistol  – the Modular Handgun System. Now SIG Sauer have announced the introduction of the P320-M18, the civilian variant of the compact M18 which is the US Marine Corps’s newly adopted sidearm.

SIG Sauer has published a press release announcing that they have completed the delivery of 100,000th M17/M18 pistol to the US Military. These pistols won the MHS (Modular Handgun System) trials and were adopted by the US Army back in the January of 2017 with the first delivery taking place in November of the same year to the 101st Airborne Division. After the adoption by the US Army, the M17/M18 pistols shortly became the sidearm of choice for all service branches of the United States Armed Forces.

Just last week word went out from the  Consumer Products Safety Commission that there has been a Blackhawk recall for the new T-series holster. The holster design can change the position of the safety switch on the firearm without the user knowing it. This could lead to a negligent discharge when drawn.

We at TFB have been closely following the progress of the Modular Handgun System since the US Military launched its search for a new service pistol. Since the SIG Sauer P320’s selection back in January 2017, the pistol has undergone continuing evaluation and a steadily increasing roll-out to US combat troops and has begun to be fielded by other branches including the US Marine Corps and US Air Force.

Last month we reported that the US Marine Corps had begun issuing the M18, the compact variant of the US military’s Modular Handgun System (MHS). SIG Sauer have now shared a statement celebrating the adoption. The USMC’s adoption of the MHS was only a matter of time with the Corps involved in the MHS selection. Earlier this year the US Air Force also began issuing the M18 to select units.

The US Marine Corps has confirmed to TFB that the Corps will be procuring only the M18 compact variant of the Modular Handgun System. Back in March 2018, the USMC confirmed that they would be procuring the SIG Sauer Modular Handgun System and while it was stated that 35,000 MHS pistols would be purchased they did not stipulate which of the two pistols they would be issuing. The Marine Corps followed the USAF, who also recently began fielding the new M18.

Back in March, we reported that the Air Force Security Forces Center had received its first Modular Handgun System compact M18 pistols. Now the first USAF Security Force Squadrons are receiving their first pistols with the 673d SFS, based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, receiving new M18s.

Today we have some more photos of the US Army’s new Modular Handgun System, the SIG Sauer M17, in action from a number of US Army units including the 1st Cavalry Division, 1-502nd Infantry Regiment and 108th Cavalry Regiment.

Ah, the famous SIG Sauer P320 M17 pistol, placed into service by the U.S. Army and other branches after a long and pronounced testing and evaluation period that was not without controversy. But, besides a few slight specifications and material treatment variations, the M17 is nearly identical to the civilian P320 pistols laying on the shelves of thousands of local gun shops.

In this episode of TFBTV, James reviews Smith & Wesson’s MHS competitor, the M&P 2.0 5 inch model.

The US Air Force has begun to issue the new M18 Modular Handgun System to Air Force Security Forces. The new compact M18 will replace both the Beretta M9 and the older SIG Sauer M11A1 pistols with Air Force security personnel.

SIG Sauer has introduced the .177 caliber CO2 powered airgun replica of the M17 pistol. The M17 Air Pistol is externally identical to the US Military’s new handgun both in terms of dimensions and color. The company has also designed this airgun to feel like the M17 by making it with a polymer frame, metal slide, reciprocating blowback action as well as making the disassembly procedure similar to the air pistol’s real counterpart.

US Department of Defence has published on their website a contract award announcement telling about a US Navy contract awarded to Trijicon for delivery of handgun reflex sights. Although the model of the sight is not specified, I think it is safe to say that the subject of the contract is one of the Trijicon RMR red dot sights. Below you can find the full text of the announcement quoted from the US DoD website.