U.S. Army officials have issued an updated timeline for replacing the M9 9mm pistol with the Modular Handgun System.
The competition between gun makers will officially begin next year, and a contract will be awarded to have the weapon ready by 2018, Military.com reported Thursday.
“This will be followed by a phased down-select process that will run through 2017. When all is said and done, the XM17 will provide Warfighters with greater accuracy, target acquisition, ergonomic design. The new handgun will also be more reliable, durable and easier to maintain,” Col. Scott Armstrong, the head of Project Manager for Soldier Weapons, said in a June 17 press release, Military.com reported.
The winning company will be required to provided 300,000 of the new pistols to the U.S. Army.
The introduction of the XM17 MHS will end Beretta USA’s run of supplying the Army with pistols since the mid-1980s, the website reported.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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