Posted on 05/22/2020 1:04:47 PM PDT by PROCON
The Marine Corps has officially begun procurement of the Army's Modular Handgun System to replace its existing pistol arsenal, the service announced on Tuesday.
The M18 service pistol — a compact variant of the striker-fired M17 that, based on Sig Sauer's P320, the Army adopted under the MHS program in 2017 — will finally see fielding this fiscal year, according to Marine Corps Systems Command.
MARCORSYSCOM spokesman Maj. Ken Kunze had previously pegged the start of fielding at some time during the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, with a target completion date in "late 2023."
The M18 will replace the Beretta M9 that the Corps adopted in 1985, as well as the selectively-fielded Glock 9mm M007 concealed carry and the beloved M45A1.
“The MHS improves on the precision and reliability of the legacy platforms, while also bringing with it new, more effective ammunition,” said Program Manager for Infantry Weapons weapons product manager Maj. Mike Brisker in a statement.
The M18 at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on April 17, 2019,(U.S. Marine Corps photo)
The Corps has been angling for a taste of the Army's new pistol since 2018 when the service's fiscal year 2019 budget request laid out plans to purchase 35,000 of the new MHS.
The M18 "provides modularity and greater shooter ergonomics over the current models which will allow for more accurate fire for military personnel of different sizes," as the Corps's budget request put it at the time,
The service ended up buying roughly 30,306 M18s that fiscal year, according to budget documents.
The Corps has been rocking the M18 since February 2019, when Sig Sauer first delivered some 5,000 of the pistols to the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps for training, demonstration, and evaluation.
Both the Navy and Air Force plan on purchasing 60,000 and 130,000 M18 pistols in the coming years, respectively, while the Army plans on buying roughly 195,000 MHS pistols — the majority of which will be M17s.
Wow. Learn somthin’ new everyday. Thanks.
You avoided the question I posed to you.
Several years later I mentioned to a friend who customizes pistols that I would love to replace the mainspring housing with one that had a lanyard loop. He said the pistol also had a plastic trigger. He pawed through his old parts and was able to find the lanyard loop and an original long metal trigger.
Then all I needed was something for carrying it. I got a custom made brown left-handed military holster and a WW I belt and a two magazine pouch.
So now that part of my collection is complete.
Sweet,
You can still find
Military Surplus items
For that but it’s
Drying out.
Plenty of Beretta gear
Should be coming
On the market.
Something *is* wrong, definitely. I'm not the only one; there's YouTube videos and forum threads on this topic.
I have two of them in 45 ACP and they both require a ridiculous amount of force to rotate the lever.
Forcing the lever doesn't break anything, but it doesn't seem to loosen it with repetition. Its just extremely tight.
He has been custom building pistols for years, so he has a very large spare parts drawer. I was definitely lucky.
Been there. Stayed many times at the Sheraton Harbor Island. Great Sunday brunch back in the day. You must be Navy?
Just as you would.
A tiny bullet.
Fired from the barrel of my mouse gun.
At your big toe.
Burma-Shave
Thank you for that tidbit.
I had not read it before.
I am familiar with the ballistics.
I love my GL-23. Not a single mis-fire in 12 years.
And You have a 16 Round Magazine loaded with Good ‘Old .45 ACP reach out and Tap someone.
“...provides modularity...”
What does modularity mean when it comes to a pistol?
The M18 is built with a removable trigger module that can be inserted into new grips and mated with new barrels and slides to make a whole new handgun based on whatever the mission calls for. (Multiple calibers).
“Fat Butt” love it!
I sure Did,ol’Tucker.
But because you insist.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.