Sig Sauer’s P320 pistol, after winning the U.S. Army XM17 Modular Handgun System (to be designated as the M17 MHS), looks to delivering to the rest of the branches of the U.S. Military as the Navy, Marines and Air Force will accept the pistol for service. The P320 is set to replace the Beretta M9 as the standard sidearm of the U.S. Army.

In a report at the Kit Up! Blog of Military.com, Matthew Cox writes that while the GAO (Government Accountability Office) will still need to make a decision in June on the protest of Glock which the company filed last February 17, the U.S. Army can continue with its work on the newly selected pistol. Also, Cox writes in a separate story that the 101st Airborne Division will be the first unit to receive the M17 MHS.

There is mentioned set contact amount from the other services for the M17 MHS, but the U.S. Army contract is already worth US$580 million over a 10-year period. Sig Sauer has been winning contracts in the USA with the P320, the latest win being the Immigration and Customs, which is being protested by FN America (FN Herstal’s U.S. arm).

If the GAO upholds the win of the Sig Sauer on the U.S. Army contract, over 420,000 pistols will be purchased by the U.S. Army and the other services.

For the M17 MHS contract, Sig Sauer is to supply both the full size and compact versions that are both configurable to accept silencers and include standard and extended capacity magazines. The P320/M17 is modular handgun that can be adjusted in terms of frame size and caliber. It is a striker-fired pistol just like the Glock series. So far, the U.S. Army has been mum on what ammunition will the pistol use, though it can be used with the 9mm, .357SIG and .40SGW.

Top Photo:  U.S. Army Sgt. Andrew Finneran with the P320 (Photo by Capt. Charlie Emmons, U.S. Army)