Notice the Screaming Eagles emblem on the side of the helmet.
Posted on 03/20/2018 4:41:50 PM PDT by BBell
The US Marine Corps is set to replace its M9s with 35,000 Modular Handgun System pistols, budgeting over $6 million for the procurement. Since the US army’s adoption of the XM17/18 in January 2017, there has been much speculation around if and when the other services would follow. It seems the Marine Corps will be the first.
The recently published 2019 Fiscal Year Budget Estimates Justification Book for United States Marine Corps procurement gives us some insight into the Corps small arms aims for the next couple of years. The adoption of SIG Sauer’s Modular Handgun System is one of the USMC’s major short term small arms programs.
The Corps’ 2019 Budget Estimates justified the adoption of the new pistol, stating:
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.
From this short passage we learn that the USMC is planning on also replacing their recently acquired Glock 19M pistols, which were adopted back in November 2017 as the M007, to fulfil the Corps’ conceal carry weapon requirement. The budget justification also notes that in addition to the procurement of MHS itself, the Corps will also spend an estimated $4 million on the purchase of accessories “such as customized holster, lights, etc.” for the new sidearms. This appears to be confirmed by a sources sought RFI recently posted on FedBizOpps.gov requesting: “industry input that identifies potential sources for holster sleeve for the Modular Handgun System (MHS) (P320 Sig Sauer handgun) Compact ([XM18]) version”
This may also indicate that the Marine Corps is more interested in the compact XM18 than the full size XM17, the RFI from the Marine Corps Systems Command confirms plans “to purchase a minimum of 2,000 with a possibility of up to the maximum quantity of 40,000 MHS holster sleeves over the life of the contract.”
The Marine Corps did not responded in time for publication to our request for confirmation of the procurement but last year a spokeswoman from the Marine Corps confirmed that the Corps has been involved in all of the MHS program testing, but admitted they did not yet have a timeline for procurement. The USMC’s Budget Justification Book indicates that the purchase will be made during the 2019 fiscal year, with 35,000 pistols acquired for $6.3 million. This gives a per pistol cost of $180.
The 35,000 pistol figure confirms earlier reports of the number of pistols the USMC would purchase. It remains to be seen if the estimates of 130,000 pistols for the Air Force and 61,000 Compact M18s for the Navy will also prove to be correct. According to the budget estimates the contract for the pistols is scheduled to be awarded in Jan 2019 with the first pistols to be delivered in Feb 2019.
Sources:
Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Estimates Justification Book for the United States Marine Corps Procurement Vol.1, Feb. 2018, (source)
Notice the Screaming Eagles emblem on the side of the helmet.
Love my P320 RX w Grayguns trigger.
1,000 rounds, no hiccups.
Modular, so girl hands will fit it. And every Sig i get my hands on is blocky and heavier than it should be.
Sig is very overrated.
I rented a SIG 320 and was not particularly impressed, as there was nothing about it that was any better than a whole lot of other striker-fired handguns. Didn’t hate it, didn’t like it.
I’ll stick with my Beretta Mini Cougar.
I did not know ergonomics was something which could be quantitatively measured (“greater” vs. “lesser”). I’ve always thought of it as something which depended on a qualitative analysis ( “better” vs. “worse”).
My Sig Sauer P320SC subcompact and P320F full-size pistols are my favorites and the result of trading through many other brands and models over the years. The subcompact is my favorite. I do have a Glock 42, which is great when I have limited concealability. I use the P320F for competitive IDPA and USPSA matches.
I’ll give them $100 a piece for their 4-month-old Glock 19s...
I love my Sigs. But, the are all DA/SA action.
Sure it can!
Anybody for whom the Glock grip angle is a “natural pointer” has a deformed wrist!
I wonder how much they wasted by adopting the glock for such a short period of time.
Lol!
But that means you think it has poor ergonomics, not that it has “less” ergonomics than some other weapon.
I don’t know, but my offer stands. $100 per pistol.
“I don’t know, but my offer stands. $100 per pistol.”
$110.00
L
Do you favor this change?
Come on now, let’s not drive up the price.
Why not conspire with me to get them for $100 a piece and then we’ll split them 50-50.
I mean, what’s a little bid-rigging among friends, right?
;-)
Probably as good as any and better than most.
We really do have a lot of great handguns to choose from now. The Beretta model 92 is probably as reliable as any handgun ever but it does have a large grip.
Unfortunately I can’t afford a new handgun right now. I have two old Browning Hi-Powers which are perfectly good but I would pick something else, a double action, if I could pick any one I wanted.
Actually if I could just choose one it would not be a 9mm but a full size Glock 10mm even if it is not DA. Can’t remember the model numbers.
Nothing wrong with that.
No, it means that “less” people need to adjust their grip to compensate for the angle.
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