With the win of Sig Sauer of the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System (MHS), now designated as the M17/XM17 pistol, the company can look forward to another big contract. According to Soldier Systems, they have looked into the 2019 Fiscal Year Budget Estimates Justification Book for United States Marine Corps and they plan to allocate US$6.3 million in 2019 to purchase 35,000 Modular Handgun Systems.

The rationale for the adoption of the U.S. Army’s select pistol is seen in page 105 of the document, which states that:

The Modular Handgun System will be purchased to replace the legacy M9, M9A1, M45A1, and M007 pistols with a more affordable and efficient pistol for maintenance. The MHS also provides modularity and greater shooter ergonomics over the current models which will allow for more accurate fire for military personnel of different sizes.

The last pistol mentioned in that page, the M007 is the Glock 19M that the USMC recently adopted late last year for use by the CID (Criminal Investigation Division) and Marine One personnel. Now, it seems that Glock will have a smaller foothold in the USMC with the MARSOC being allowed to keep their Glock 19 pistols.

While this may sound new to some readers, for those who have been following the Modular Handgun System, the USMC was a participant in the MHS program and other branches such as the Air Force and Navy are prepared to accept the MHS for service.

The Firearm Blog, covering the same story, writes that the USMC may be more interested in the more compact version of the MHS, the M18/XM18 rather than full size M17/XM17. This can meet the need of some units of the USMC for a concealed carry to replace the Glock 19M/M007. Whatever the version the USMC selects, it is still a win for  Sig Sauer and its P320 pistol.

Top Photo: XM17 Pistol (U.S. Army Photo)