Tag Archives: military guns

Army to Start Fielding SIG M8 Next Gen Squad Weapon in December

Posted on by Leave a comment

The Army’s planned SIG Sauer-made replacement for the M4 Carbine is slated for delivery to troops before year’s end.

As we previously reported, SIG won the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon, or NGSW, competition in April 2022, securing a 10-year contract for two weapons chambered in the new hybrid 6.8×51 Common Cartridge. The weapons are intended to replace the Army’s 5.56 NATO small arms in front-line service.

The rifle, initially designated the XM5 and now type-classified as the M7, is based on SIG’s MCX Spear platform and will replace the M4 and M4A1. The SIG LMG-6.8, adopted as the M250 light machine gun, will replace the FN-made M249 SAW.

Now, the lighter, more compact XM8 is the Army’s rifle of choice, as shown by the service’s FY27 budget request, which debuted earlier this year, and by this week’s reporting from Military Times. 

The outlet reports the XM8 will reach troops in December, and SIG reps say the new rifle is far better than the “old” new rifle.

“From our perspective [the M8 is] a far superior rifle to the M7,” Dave Buehler, SIG’s vice president of manufacturing, told the outlet. “On the M7, our hands were kind of tied [with what] the design criteria or characteristics of the contract required – even if we didn’t like them, we had to meet them. So now, the M8 considers our feedback, the soldiers’ feedback. And we can’t wait to get it out there.”

The XM8, seen here, is a carbine variant of the M7 Rifle. While the M7 has a 13-inch barrel, the XM8 runs an 11-incher. Coupled with other improvements, this delivers a more M4-like experience while retaining the common 6.8×51 cartridge.  (Photo: Aliyah Harrison/U.S. Army)

Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle showcased a Soldier with an XM8 at the opening of the 2026 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., this week.

XM8 rifle
In addition to the XM8, the Soldier has an OpsCore AMPs/FAST headset and AN/PSQ-42 ENVG-B Thermal Fusion goggles, both of which the Army has fielded in limited numbers since 2019. (Photo: Christopher Kaufmann/U.S. Army)

A closer look at the gun shows a Vortex UH-1 holographic sight with a Vortex 3X Magnifier, Leonardo FWS-I (AN/PAS-35) clip-on thermals, and a B.E. Meyers DAGIR NIR illuminator. (Photo: Christopher Kaufmann/U.S. Army)

M7 rifle with M157 optic
The M7 is intended to field with the bulky Vortex-made M157 “smart” optics system, seen here in a 2024 test with the 101st Airborne, but the Army has a “M7 Surrogate Fire Control Program” which has seen other platforms used until M157 production catches up. The Vortex optic offers 1-8×30 magnification and combines a laser rangefinder and ballistic computer in an overlaid display to increase first-round hit probability. Even if the high-tech add-ons take a dirt nap, the backup etched reticle should still allow the sight to work as akin to an LPVO. (Photo: Capt. Andrew Lightsey IV/U.S. Army)

While the XM8 and M7 shown above both are seen with the standard steel 20-round magazine, the Army has also been trialing a 25-round magazine developed by SIG for the NGSW.

Further, what appear to be 25-round Magpul PMAGs were seen in the field with the guns earlier this year.

 

Exceeding Mil-Spec on the M17/M18

Posted on by One comment

In early 2017, SIG Sauer picked up the largest and most important military handgun contract in 30 years and had to meet requirements far more rigorous than previous generations.

The New Hampshire-based company came out on top in the U.S. Army’s $580 million Modular Handgun System award, one that stood to replace the service’s dated M9 (Beretta 92F) and M11 (SIG P228) series 9mm pistols.

The new MHS guns would be the full-sized M17 and the more compact M18, both models of SIG’s P320 series pistol but fitted with different grip modules and barrels.

Then the Navy/Marines and Air Force went with the gun to replace not only the M9 but also the Glock M007 and Colt M45A1 with the former and the M15 .38 K-frame with the latter.

Almost all of the larger M17s have been delivered, with the production of the M18s still underway

With more than 200,000 guns delivered and all four services almost complete with the build-out, while visiting SIG Sauer’s New Hampshire factory recently, I checked out the inspection and certification process to which the military submits each MHS series pistol.

This includes a strict accuracy test, with each pistol required to fire 10 shots into a 2.85-inch circle at 25 meters. For reference, this is about the size of a tennis ball.

The prior standard was 10 shots inside a 9×11 rectangle – an area just larger than a sheet of copy paper.

More in my column at Guns.com.

200,000th M17/M18 Delivered to DOD

Posted on by Leave a comment

Sig Sauer has been trucking right along with deliveries of the Modular Handgun System pistols– the full-sized M17 and more compact M18– since 2017 and just announced they have delivered the 200,000th such 9mm sidearm to Uncle.

Of note, the M17 and M18 are in use by all four Pentagon-reporting service branches and some 451,586 are on the schedule.

The MHS system is a P320-based platform, featuring coyote-tan PVD coated stainless steel slides with black controls, utilizes both 17-round and 21-round magazines, and are equipped with SIGLITE front night sights, removable night sight rear plates, and manual safeties. The M18 is shown in the foreground while the M17 is in the back. (Photo: TACOM)

More in my column at Guns.com.

Welcome (back), M16A4

Posted on by 2 comments

The humble original M16 was originally Armalite’s AR-15, and was first ordered for military service with a contract issued to Colt Firearms in May 1962 for the purchase of early Model 01 rifles to be used by Air Force Security Police.

Note, these guns had waffle-pattern 20-round mags, no forward assist, a thin 1:14 twist barrel, and the early three-prong flash hider.

Fast forward to the XM16E1, which became the M16A1 in 1967, and you started to come closer to the standard Army/Marine rifle used in Vietnam and throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. It used a forward assist and a 1:12 twist barrel.

By 1983, the M16A2 came about, it had a thicker barrel in front of the front sight, a modified flash suppressor (closed on bottom), a new polymer buttstock (lighter and stronger), faster barrel twist (from 1:12 to 1:7), and a spent case deflector for left-hand users. Considered downright vintage by the Army and Marines, the Navy still sports them these days.

M16A2- check
M9 in drop leg holster- check
Body armor- um, about that……

By 1998, the M16A4 was in play, primarily for the Marines, which had a removable carry handle, a Picatinny top rail to allow for optics, short rails on the handguard for accessories, and a 20-inch barrel with a 1:7 RH twist rate.

Note the size difference between the compact M4 Carbine, top, and the full-length M16A4 rifle, bottom. (Photos: Department of Defense)

Since the GWOT kicked off in 2002, the big shift over the years has been to move from the full-length M16 family to the more compact M4/M4A1 carbine, with its collapsible rear stock and stubby 14-inch barrel, leaving the increasingly old-school style rifle as something of a relic today. Heck, the Army for the past couple years has been very actively working on replacing their 5.56 NATO rifles and SAWs with a new 6.8mm weapon. 

Now jump to 2020, and the M16A4 is now apparently the Army’s designated rifle for Foreign Military Sales to equip overseas allies in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Nepal.

Colt and FN are competing in a contract to supply as much as $383 million smackers worth of M16A4s by 2025.

More in my column at Guns.com. 

There will soon be some milsurp U.S. Army M17s in the wild

Posted on by Leave a comment

Sig Sauer has a small number of military surplus M17 pistols that have seen varying degrees of genuine field use and is passing them on to collectors.

As explained by Sig, the guns were early military models with coyote tan surface controls. Since then, the M17 has been updated to black controls and the Army arranged to return those early guns to Sig for new ones. The now-surplus guns still have government control numbers and have seen a mix of action, with some pistols saltier than others.

Sig says these guns were previously fielded by the U.S. Army and their condition will vary, “making each one uniquely different, and making this truly an opportunity to own a piece of history.” (Photo: Sig)

More in my column at Guns.com.

100K MHS Series Pistols and Counting

Posted on by Leave a comment

New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer announced last week that they have reached a milestone in delivering new pistols to the U.S. Armed Forces.

Since winning the contentious Modular Handgun System contract in 2017, beating out big-name pistol makers from around the globe to replace the M9 Beretta, Sig has exceeded performance standards and recently delivered the 100,000th MHS series gun to the military.

The MHS system comprises the Sig Sauer M17 full-size, and M18 compact handguns, each based on the company’s P320 series pistols, as well as Winchester Ammunition’s 9x19mm M1152 Ball, M1153 Special Purpose, and M1156 Drilled Dummy Inert cartridges.

Over the coming five-to-seven years, upwards of 350,000 handguns and 100 million rounds of ammunition are scheduled for delivery to the Pentagon.

More in my column at Guns.com 

Wanna see the Glock MHS entry?

Posted on by Leave a comment

With the Army’s Modular Handgun System contract now firmly in the hands of Sig Sauer, images of Glock’s entry for the M17 and M18 pistol have emerged and they have a number of differences from their standard offerings.

These include a lanyard ring at the bottom of the grip, black ambi surface controls, a lack of finger grooves, a manual thumb safety, extended mags, and a flat dark earth finish. The models offered outwardly seem like otherwise variants of the Gen 4 G19 in 9mm and G23 in .40S&W. Not pictured are threaded barrels, a contract requirement, or ammunition, which was provided by Federal.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Sig Sauer came correct with pricing for Army MHS contract

Posted on by Leave a comment

The Government Accountability Office on Friday released the detailed decision on a contract protest by Glock over the Army’s selection for the Modular Handgun System contract.

The 17-page decision chronicled the Army’s efforts between August 2015 and August 2016 when the field of nine proposals from five companies was reduced to an offering by Glock and another, ultimately winning bid, by Sig Sauer. The difference between the two bids was a staggering $100 million.

In the end, Sig quoted $169.5 million for up to 550,000 M17/18 handgun systems, or just $308 per pistol, which is a deal when you take into account the amount of spare parts, mags, cleaning kits, and cases that are included.

The M17 comes in a full size (with extended mag) variant and a more compact model, below, to replace both the M9 and M11

Glock on the other hand was a lot higher.

More in my column at Guns.com