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Makers Compete To Produce US Army's Next Official Handgun (military.com)
HughPickens.com writes: After 30 years in use, the U.S. Army's official handgun, the Beretta M9 pistol, is being retired. The AP reports that firearms manufacturers are competing for a rare chance to sell the U.S. Army a new handgun that would replace the current Cold War-era model. Critics say the M9 is too bulky for small-handed shooters. Troops who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan complain it's not as hard-hitting as they would like, and it can't easily accommodate the accessories now common in the civilian firearms market, such as swappable gun-sights or gun-mounted lights. "It's a little one size-fits-most" says Rodney Briggs.. "It's been around for a really, really long time, and it's just old and outdated." Read more, below.
Hugh Pickens continues: Army has a lengthy list of requirements. Among them, it wants a handgun with an adjustable grip that can easily fit large or small hands. That way, shooters don't have to adjust their grip mid-fight to operate hard-to-reach buttons or levers. The gun should accommodate sights that make it easier to shoot in low light. It should have a rail on which soldiers can easily attach additional equipment, like infrared pointers. The military also wants a gun that can be equipped with a suppressor, which muffles the sound of gunshots. Beretta intends to enter a new pistol called the APX into the competition. The new gun is a major engineering departure from the M9. It has a polymer frame like more recent handguns and can meet the Army's other requirements. Beretta has publicly complained that the government never formally requested efforts to improve its M9, which the company said is a standard procedure for upgrading platforms. "If you look at the history for a variety of weapons, you'll find all along we'll have used spiral development, product improvement. Where was the requirement they notify prime contractor with an opportunity to fix the problem?" says Howard Yellen, a military adviser for Beretta.
Hugh Pickens continues: Army has a lengthy list of requirements. Among them, it wants a handgun with an adjustable grip that can easily fit large or small hands. That way, shooters don't have to adjust their grip mid-fight to operate hard-to-reach buttons or levers. The gun should accommodate sights that make it easier to shoot in low light. It should have a rail on which soldiers can easily attach additional equipment, like infrared pointers. The military also wants a gun that can be equipped with a suppressor, which muffles the sound of gunshots. Beretta intends to enter a new pistol called the APX into the competition. The new gun is a major engineering departure from the M9. It has a polymer frame like more recent handguns and can meet the Army's other requirements. Beretta has publicly complained that the government never formally requested efforts to improve its M9, which the company said is a standard procedure for upgrading platforms. "If you look at the history for a variety of weapons, you'll find all along we'll have used spiral development, product improvement. Where was the requirement they notify prime contractor with an opportunity to fix the problem?" says Howard Yellen, a military adviser for Beretta.
law enforcement is down-sizing their handguns as well. the .40SW is being replaced by the 9MM.
Given that US police seem to hit ten innocent bystanders for every bad guy they shoot, I'd recommend they downsize to Nerf Guns.
"Critics say the M9 is too bulky for small-handed shooters"
Read: women.
Seriously, people: infantry combat is STILL one of those old-fashioned things where size and strength are really fucking important. You're not going to be able to design a smaller, lighter gun for petite little hands that ALSO has (as the rest of the article explains is needed badly) an increased stopping-power (which is primarily about the kinetic energy striking the target).
"Finesse" all the Ranger tests you want, but "average woman A" will not perform as well in combat as "average man B".* This is just another example of how/why.
* that said, there are a crapton of wastrels, layabouts, and good-for-nothings in the lower bracket of the male bell curve that will be outperformed by exceptional women because the women have the mental attitude necessary to be successful, which can get you a long way.
-Styopa
Aren't reliability and weight big concerns with the M9?
I'm not sure why they don't just switch to a Glock in .45. Cheap, durable, repairable, cost-effective, and very reliable.
The importance of the sidearm is decreasing in warfare, so if you're at the point where you need to use one, you'd probably rather have .45. Being able to carry more ammunition for a pistol doesn't seem like it would be the concern it once was.
law enforcement is down-sizing their handguns as well. the .40SW is being replaced by the 9MM.
Given that US police seem to hit ten innocent bystanders for every bad guy they shoot, I'd recommend they downsize to Nerf Guns.
Indeed. There is a lot written about the militarisation of the police. But, they've only been militarised with respect to the hardware, not with respect to actually knowing what they are doing.
Similar to the upcoming US election results
S&W M&P .45, that is. Has the added benefit of being a US company.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Reading the summary, it sounds like the army has looked at a Glock brochure and just listed everything there as their requirements.
Gee, and this sounds nothing like it did back in the 80s when the requirements read like a Beretta brochure.
By the time we're reading about the requirements, the model has likely already been designed, and possibly even chosen.
Glock had a hard time with requirements previously due to the lack of external safety, but that's a fairly easy design fix. Other vendors already have that, along with interchangable grip backstraps and rails. Honesty, I can think of half a dozen current models that fit the description from various vendors.
I think the real decision will come down to them accepting a polymer frame design or not, since a good portion of the shooting industry chose to follow Gaston down that path.