The SIG Sauer M17 and M18 are
service pistol
A service pistol (also known as a standard-issue pistol or a personal ordnance weapon) is any handgun issued to regular military personnel or law enforcement officers. Typically, service pistols are semi-automatic pistols (previously revolvers) ...
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.
History
The P320 chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum was introduced in the North American market on 15 January 2014, followed by the .45 A ...
in use with the
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...
.
Design

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
A reflector sight or reflex sight is an optical sight that allows the user to look through a partially reflecting glass element and see an aiming point or some image (helping to aim the device, to which the sight is attached, on the target) sup ...
; 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 generally can be divided into subtypes su ...
.
* 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 (philosophy), something which is done by a person
* Action principles the heart of fundamental physics
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video gam ...
.
* 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. Historically armourers were often men, but women could also undertake the occupation: for example Alice la Haubergere worked as an armourer in Cheapside i ...
users.
The Modular Handgun System has self-illuminating
tritium sights 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.
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 (FMJ) and XM1153 Special Purpose/Jacketed Hollow Point (JHP) 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 petals.
One round is a standard ball/Full Metal Jacket (FMJ), designated the M1152, the other is a Special Purpose/Jacketed Hollow Point (JHP) round designated the M1153.
Olin Corporation (
Winchester Brand) received a contract to produce approximately 1.2 million rounds of the ammunition.
History

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 1 ...
and will be fielded more widely, being issued down to
squad
In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...
and
fireteam
A fireteam or fire team is a small modern warfare, modern military sub-subunit, subordinated element of infantry designed to optimize "Non-commissioned officer, NCO initiative", "combined arms", "bounding overwatch" and "fire and movement" mi ...
leaders.
Assessment recommendations
The first annual report for the XM17/XM18 Modular Handgun System (MHS) program assessment recommended that 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 who guard the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia.
...
.
Each of the four pistols bears a specific name and theme engraved on the pistol's
dust cover: 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.
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.
Commercial variants
P320-M17

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 as found on later military M17 service pistol batches.
According to SIG Sauer,
9mm NATO (a commercial +P
overpressure variant) loads released in 2018 out of the SIG P320-M17 have a muzzle velocity of and muzzle energy of .
M17 Commemorative
A commemorative edition was also released, called simply the M17 Commemorative, produced in the exact specification of the original gun delivered to the army.
It includes the 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.
P320-M18
In 2020, SIG released the P320-M18 model for civilians, which features the same adaptation of the military configuration, this time with the shorter carry size M18.
Adoption
The M17 and M18 have subsequently been adopted by the
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
,
Navy
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
,
Marine Corps
Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...
,
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 army aviati ...
, 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. ...
, replacing 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 1 ...
, as well as several other handguns across five of the six service branches.
The services plan to procure up to 421,000 weapons in total; 195,000 for the
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
, 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 army aviati ...
, 61,000 for the
Navy
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
(M18 compact version only), and 35,000 for the
Marine Corps
Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...
.
The
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...
is the only military branch that will not be receiving the M17 and M18, they will be replacing their
SIG Sauer P229R DAK with the
Glock 19 Gen5 MOS.
There are two color variants,
coyote brown
Coyote brown, also known as nutria brown, is a color often used in military camouflage. It is a dull yellowish brown.
See also
*List of colors
*MARPAT
*MultiCam
References
Shades of brown
{{color-stub ...
and black, for both variants, though almost all have been produced in coyote brown.
Distribution
All Army units are planned to have the M9 replaced with the M17 by 2027.
The Army primarily ordered the M17 version, while the Air Force and Navy opted for the M18 version as their standard service pistol.
In 2019, the Marine Corps selected the M18 to replace several pistols, including the
M45A1 and
M007,
and started the process in 2020. In November 2019, SIG Sauer announced the delivery of the 100,000th M17/M18 handgun to the U.S. military.
Users
*
**
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
**
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
**
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
**
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
**
United States Space Force
The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space force branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the Unite ...
References
External links
P320-M17 webpageUS 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
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2017
Semi-automatic pistols of the United States