The Echelon, a striker-fired pistol from Springfield Armory, has gained popularity in the gun community in less than year of its launch. Its precision, advanced red dot mounting, and unique chassis system known as the Central Operating Group (COG) have impressed many shooters. Springfield is now expanding its market to regions with stricter magazine capacity regulations by launching a new 15-round Echelon variant.

At the core of the Echelon is the COG, a modular stainless steel chassis that can be interchanged between different grip modules in a matter of seconds. This feature enables shooters to tailor the pistol's grip size and backstrap to their preference. The 15-round Echelon is equipped with a medium grip and three swappable backstraps, with additional small and large options sold separately.

The Echelon also boasts the Variable Interface System (VIS), a unique feature that uses self-locking pins to securely attach red dot sights to the slide. This system is compatible with over 30 popular optics, providing unmatched versatility.

The introduction of the 15-round models has expanded the Echelon series to five SKUs. There are whispers of a potential .45 ACP version in the future. While Springfield has remained silent on the matter, the "echelon-45-9mm-handgun/" string found in the series landing page URL seems to hint at this possibility.

The 15-round Echelon is available in two sight options: U-Dot tritium/luminescent and three-dot tritium. Both models feature a hammer-forged 4.5" barrel for enhanced accuracy and come with two durable 15-round magazines.

Steve Kramer, Springfield's VP of Marketing, states, "The Echelon was designed from scratch to be the most advanced striker-fired pistol." He adds, "With the introduction of the new 15-round variant, we're making it available to an even wider range of shooters."

Priced from $679 for the U-Dot version, the 15-round Echelon 9mm offers superior ergonomics and durability, making it an excellent choice for discerning shooters. Will this new variant further boost the Echelon's rapid ascent? Will there be an airsoft version? Only time will reveal the answer.