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The SIG Sauer M17 and M18 are
service pistol A service pistol, also known as a personal weapon or an ordnance weapon, is any handgun issued to regular military personnel or law enforcement officers. Typically, service pistols are revolvers or semi-automatic pistols issued to officers, ...
s derived from the
SIG Sauer P320 The SIG Sauer P320 is a modular semi-automatic pistol made by SIG Sauer, Inc., SIG Sauer's American branch. It is a further development of the SIG Sauer P250, utilizing a striker-fired mechanism in lieu of a double action only hammer system. Th ...
in use with the
United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...
. On January 19, 2017, the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
announced that a customized version of
SIG Sauer Several brother companies that design and manufacture firearms use the brand name SIG Sauer . The original company, ''Schweizerische Waggon-Fabrik'' (SWF), later ''Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft'' (SIG), went through several selloffs, ...
's P320 had won the Army's XM17 Modular Handgun System competition. The full-sized model was designated the M17, and the shorter length carry model, the M18. The guns have subsequently been adopted by the Army,
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
,
Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...
,
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
, and
Space Force A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...
. The pistol replaces the
Beretta M9 The Beretta M9, officially the Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9, is the designation for the Beretta 92FS semi-automatic pistol used by the United States Armed Forces. The M9 was adopted by the United States military as their service pistol in 19 ...
, as well as several other handguns across the services. There are two color variants,
coyote brown Coyote brown is a color, often used in military camouflage. Coyote brown belongs to the dull yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575 ...
and black, for both the M17 and M18, though almost all have been produced in brown.


Modular Handgun System competition

When the requirements were formulated for a new handgun for the U.S. Army, one of the tenets of the proposal was that an existing model handgun was desired to fulfill the requirements laid out in the Modular Handgun System Request for Proposal, known as the XM17 Procurement. SIG Sauer submitted a P320 with a number of modifications for the XM17 Modular Handgun System competition.


Modifications

* Slide cut out to facilitate the addition of a reflex sight; this is the slide from the RX Series. * Ambidextrous thumb safety. *
Loaded chamber indicator Close-up shot of a safety of an M16A2 rifle In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling. Safeties can generally be divided into subtypes suc ...
. * Improved slide sub-assembly to capture small components when disassembled. * Improved trigger "mud flap" to prevent foreign debris from entering the pistol
action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
. * barrel length in full-size M17. * barrel length in carry-size M18. * Chambered in 9mm NATO; unable to adopt other calibers or frames because of the spanner screw on the frame's chassis. * A 17-round standard magazine, with an optional 21-round extended magazine available. * Steel components are given a
physical vapor deposition Physical vapor deposition (PVD), sometimes called physical vapor transport (PVT), describes a variety of vacuum deposition methods which can be used to produce thin films and coatings on substrates including metals, ceramics, glass, and polym ...
(PVD) corrosion-resistant finish. * Using spanner screws instead of normal screws to resist disassembly further than field stripping by non-
armorer Historically, an armourer is a person who makes personal armour, especially plate armour. In modern terms, an armourer is a member of a military or police force who works in an armoury and maintains and repairs small arms and weapons system ...
users. The Modular Handgun System has self-illuminating
tritium sight Tritium radioluminescence is the use of gaseous tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, to create visible light. Tritium emits electrons through beta decay and, when they interact with a phosphor material, light is emitted through the pr ...
s for low-light conditions, an integrated rail for attaching enablers and an Army standard suppressor conversion kit for attaching an acoustic/flash suppressor. Every M17/M18 handgun is test fired before leaving the factory with 13 rounds -- three to break in the weapon and ten to test accuracy.


History


SIG Sauer wins the contract

On January 19, 2017, the United States Army announced that the SIG Sauer P320 MHS variant had won the military's Modular Handgun System trials. The modified P320 was subsequently designated the M17 (Full-Size) and M18 (Carry) for U.S. military service. The M17 has better accuracy and ergonomics and tighter dispersion than the
Beretta M9 The Beretta M9, officially the Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9, is the designation for the Beretta 92FS semi-automatic pistol used by the United States Armed Forces. The M9 was adopted by the United States military as their service pistol in 19 ...
and will be fielded more widely, being issued down to
squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army d ...
and
fireteam A fireteam or fire team is a small military sub-subunit of infantry designed to optimize " bounding overwatch" and " fire and movement" tactical doctrine in combat. Depending on mission requirements, a typical fireteam consists of four or f ...
leaders. US special operations forces operators are all dual-armed with a pistol and a rifle. Junior leaders in regular infantry units who were previously excluded from carrying sidearms will be given more choices and options in close quarters battle situations under a new policy. All Army units are planned to have the M9 replaced with the M17 within a decade.


U.S. military services adopt the M17 and M18

In May 2017, the Army announced that the first unit that will receive the M17 would be the
101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
by the end of the year. At the same time, the rest of the U.S. Armed Forces revealed they also intend to acquire the handgun, making it the standard sidearm for the entire U.S. military. The services plan to procure up to 421,000 weapons in total; 195,000 for the Army, 130,000 for the
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
, 61,000 for the
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
(M18 compact version only), and 35,000 for the
Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...
. In 2019, the Marine Corps selected the M18 to replace several pistols. While the other services had previously primarily fielded the Beretta M9 and M9A1, the Corps also planned to replace its M45A1 and M007 pistols with the M18. The M45A1 was made by Colt and the only recently fielded M007 was made by
Glock Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was ...
. The Marines began rolling out the M18 in 2020. Although it was initially announced that the U.S. Coast Guard would adopt the M17/18 handgun, the agency announced in September 2020 that they would acquire Glock 19 Gen 5 handguns through a
DHS The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-ter ...
procurement. In November 2019, SIG Sauer announced the delivery of the 100,000th M17/M18 handgun to the U.S. military.


Ammunition

Though the pistol remained chambered in 9mm NATO rather than a larger caliber, the contract allowed the Army and other services to procure SIG Sauer' s proposed XM1152 Full Metal Jacket and XM1153 Special Purpose ammunition. The ammunition is a "Winchester jacketed hollow-point" round; similar in appearance to the Winchester PDX1 round but with some differences to the design of the
hollow-point upright=0.2, Cross-section of a hollow-point bullet; proportions are those of a .22 Long Rifle cartridge Jacketed soft point (JSP) round. Right: Jacketed hollow-point (JHP) round. JSP is a semi-jacketed round as the jacket does not extend to ...
petals. One round is a standard 115 grain ball, designated the M1152, the other is a 147 grain Special Purpose round designated the M1153. Olin Corporation ( Winchester Brand) received a contract to produce approximately 1.2 million rounds of the ammunition.


Assessment recommendations

The first annual report for the XM17/XM18 Modular Handgun System (MHS) program assessment recommended the Army: # Upon identification of the root cause of the double ejections and ball ammunition reliability problems, confirm fixes to both the XM17 and XM18 in future testing. # Work with the vendor to identify and eliminate cause of variability in the manufacture of the trigger group mechanism. # Consider redesign of the slide catch lever and other operator training changes to prevent engagement by operators while shooting the pistol.


Tomb of the Unknown Soldier pistols

On October 11, 2018, four ceremonial M17s built by Sig Sauer's Custom Shop were presented to The Old Guard for use by the Sentinels which guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
. Each of the four pistols bears a specific name and theme engraved on the pistol's
dust cover The dust jacket (sometimes book jacket, dust wrapper or dust cover) of a book is the detachable outer cover, usually made of paper and printed with text and illustrations. This outer cover has folded flaps that hold it to the front and back book ...
: Silence, Respect, Dignity, and Perseverance. "Silence" and "Respect", are highly polished with brown wood handgrips, used for daylight hours, while "Dignity" and "Perseverance" are matte black pistols with black wood handgrips for night duty and bouts of inclement weather. All four guns use an aluminum frame, rather than the polymer plastic of the standard M17, while the controls are the standard matte black. The rear slide cocking serrations of the regular M17 are replaced with "XXI", a reference to the twenty-one steps the guards take on their patrol in front of the tomb, as well as the
21-gun salute A 21-gun salute is the most commonly recognized of the customary gun salutes that are performed by the firing of cannons or artillery as a military honor. As naval customs evolved, 21 guns came to be fired for heads of state, or in exception ...
. Various materials of significance are incorporated into the pistol. The wood grips are crafted from wooden planks removed from the deck of the USS ''Olympia'', the ship which carried the first Unknown Soldier to the United States in 1921. Marble dust from the tomb's restoration is also sealed in a glass vial and used in place of the front tritium sight. The M17s only have engravings in one area of the pistol, on the sight plate, which features an engraving of three Greek figures, Peace, Victory, and Valor.


Serial numbers

The pistols are serialized with a unique set of serial numbers that incorporate items of significance to the Old Guard: "LS" represents line six of the Sentinels' Creed, "My standard will remain perfection"; "02JUL37" to signify the first 24-hour guard posted at the Tomb of the Unknown on July 3, 1937; and "21" to signify the 21 steps it takes the Tomb Sentinels to walk by the Tomb of the Unknown and the military honor of a 21 Gun Salute.


Magazines

Tomb Sentinels carry loaded weapons, with the 21-round magazine inserted into the pistol. The magazines are customized, and feature an aluminum base plate engraved with the names of the Greek figures featured on the Tomb of the Unknown – Peace, Victory, and Valor – and include a name plate on the bottom of the magazine engraved with the Tomb Sentinel badge number.


SIG Sauer P320-M17 and P320-M18

In 2018, SIG Sauer released a civilian market variant of the handgun called the P320-M17. The firearm is nearly identical, albeit lacking the tamper resistant takedown screws, and available with or without an external manual safety. The P320-M17 stainless steel slide is PVD coated and the control elements feature a black finish like found on later military M17 service pistol batches. A commemorative edition was also released, called simply the M17 Commemorative, produced in the exact specification of the original gun delivered to the army, including brown trigger and controls, the same choice of magazines selected by the military, and delivered in a plain cardboard box rather than the normal SIG Sauer hard sided black plastic case, just as military pistols were packaged. Production of the M17 Commemorative was limited to a run of 5,000 units. According to SIG Sauer, 9mm NATO (a commercial +P overpressure variant) 124 grain loads released in 2018 out of the SIG P320-M17 have a muzzle velocity of and muzzle energy of .SIG SAUER Introduces M17 9mm +P Ammunition
/ref> In 2020, SIG released the P320-M18, which features the same adaptation of the military configuration, this time with the shorter carry size M18.


Users

* **
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
**
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
**
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...
**
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
**
United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...


References


External links


P320-M17 webpage

US ARMY 101st AIRBORNE fire the M17 MHS (SIG SAUER P320) (Video)
{{Modern US Infantry Weapons 9mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistols SIG Sauer semi-automatic pistols Modular firearms Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2017 Semi-automatic pistols of the United States