US Army to field XM17 from November
The US Army will begin fielding the new Sig Sauer XM17 Modular Handgun to soldiers in November 2017, it was announced on 21 July.
The US Army's 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, is to be the first unit to receive the new handgun, following the completion of testing over the spring at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The pistol is replacing the Beretta M9, which came into service in 1986.
101 Airborne is scheduled to receive about 2,000 pistols in November, with the roll out to the rest of the army to take place over a ten-year period.
The US Army's version of the Sig Sauer P320, the weapon will come in two variants - the XM17 and XM18. The weapon features improved durability and adjustability over the M9, along with interchangeable grips, external safety and self-illuminating sight.
Sig Sauer won the $580 million contract for the weapons in January after winning the army and air force's XM17 Modular Handgun Competition. The army will continue to use 9mm rounds with the gun and has sub-contracted Winchester for the ammunition.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
US Army Project Convergence to evaluate CJADC2 in the Indo-Pacific theatre
As part of its experimentation campaign, the service will assess CJADC2 concepts and capabilities in challenging environments.
-
Avalon 2025: Hanwha outlines tight schedule for Redback deliveries
The Hanwha Armoured vehicle Centre of Excellence (H-ACE) is a A$225 million (US$142 million) factory being built beside Avalon Airport near Melbourne, Australia, despite a substantial drop in the number of vehicles originally planned to be produced.
-
Babcock secures £1.6 billion MoD contract extension to support British Army readiness
The five-year contract extension will be applied to the existing 10-year DSG Service Provision and Transformation Contract.
-
Avalon 2025: Australia receives first two HIMARS as Lockheed Martin outlines rocket plans
Lockheed Martin’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) weapon has been designed to use a range of different sized missiles and rockets from the same container which can be quickly switched out.
-
Oshkosh equips ROGUE-Fires with MLRS MFOM
The vehicle will be displayed at the AUSA Global Force symposium this week.
-
Lockheed Martin close to deploying JAGM in CUAS missions
The company plans to conduct counter-drone demonstrations with JAGM this year.