#USArmy

The United States House of Representatives has just passed their version of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and included within it is a provision that will mandate the release of all M1911 handguns currently in US Army inventory to the Civilian Marksmanship Program, for distribution to eligible US civilians. The new bill would overwrite the 2016 NDAA, which allowed for the release of 10,000 of the pistols, but did not mandate it. The text of Section 1064 of the 2018 NDAA is as follows:

If you are looking for the toughest pump action shotgun out there, chances are you have already strongly considered the Mossberg 590A1. In this episode of TFBTV, Patrick takes one of his favorite shotguns out to the range to show you guys the military grade Mossberg 590A1. The 500 series of shotguns has some wonderful features that make the Mossberg a very attractive option when shopping for a scattergun for military, police, and even home defense roles. The tang mounted safety and the rearward placement of the action release button really makes the 500 series stand out from the competition.

According to a recent article on Soldier Systems, the US Army is considering an “interim” switch back to the 7.62mm caliber in standard infantry rifles. Eric Graves of the site lays out a reasonable overview of the situation on the ground, and what sort of weapons might be considered as the 7.62mm “interim” weapon. Follow the link to read his article over at soldiersystems.net.

The US Army RDECOM published a YouTube video on the Picatinny Arsenal YouTube Page about Additive Manufacturing, which includes 3D printing, and the Rapid Additively Manufactured Ballistics Ordnance or RAMBO Launcher. RAMBO, in this case, is fundamentally a 3D printed version of the M203A1 40mm grenade launcher as well as 3D printed M781 training ammunition.

With Sig Sauer officially winning the XM17 US Army pistol contract, and Glock protesting the outcome of the trials, somebody has to supply the military ammunition. That is where Winchester comes into the picture. They have been selected as the ammunition supplier for the U.S. Army modular handgun system program.

SIG Sauer is not quite out of the woods yet regarding their recent Modular Handgun System contract win. Finalist Glock – who for many was the favorite to win – has protested the XM17 contract award. SIG won the MHS contract earlier this year with a variant of their P320 handgun based on the Compact frame. The news of SIG’s win was announced on January 19th, the day before the inauguration of the new US President and his administration.

History certainly does repeat itself, at least where Army procurement is concerned. US Senator from Iowa Joni Ernst has, in an address to Vice Chief of Staff Daniel Allyn on Capitol Hill earlier last week, called for a new upgrade program for the US Army’s standard issue rifle. According to Military.com, she said:

Picatinny Arsenal is currently conducting trials and experiments on a prototype system named the “Ballistically Optimized Sniper Scope” (BOSS). Essentially it is the Army’s entry into what Barrett has been accomplishing with the BORS for a number of years, or a number of similar digitally optimized and guided scopes that many precision rifle/scope companies in the industry are pushing for. The Army’s variant appears to be attached to a Leupold Mark 4 6.5–20×50mm ER/T M5A2 (standard issue for the Remington XM 2010, pictured is a KAC M110 instead).

The Sig Sauer P320 was selected as the winner of the Modular Handgun System contract on January 19th, 2017. This was the largest weapons contract that the Department of Defense has awarded in the last 32 years for a small arms replacement program. You can read the full details over at The Firearm Blog at the below link.

Six 8″ plate targets, from draw and 7 meters, in less then 10 seconds with a 9 mm handgun was the mission. Doesn’t sound too hard, even for me!

In a move that will define Army small arm procurement for decades, the Department of Defense has just announced that they have selected Sig Sauer to produce a “Modular Handgun System” for Army warfighters. The new handgun will replace the current M9 sidearm and is the culmination of over five years of testing and trials between several manufacturers.

Today, the news broke that SIG USA has become the winner of the United States Army’s Modular Handgun System contract, making its P320 handgun the next standard issue sidearm for the United States armed forces. The new pistol, to be designated “M17”, is a smaller, lighter, more adaptable handgun than the US Army’s aging M9, made by Beretta.

At the 2017 SHOT Show, Heckler & Koch was proudly displaying their victorious CSASS entrant, now designated the M110A1 by the US Army. The Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System competition was created to find a lighter weight, more compact sniper weapon system to replace the Knight’s Armament M110 SASS. The H&K rifle that reportedly won the contract was slightly different than the rifle on display at the show, the latter sporting the new Geissele M-LOK handguard which replaced HK’s proprietary “backwards Keymod” negative attachment handguard.

Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiments is a U.S Army test and development program that takes test products from government research agencies and private industry, works with them over a two year period, culminating in a final report that could possibly lead to adoption by various elements within the U.S Army. Products include everything from small arms ammunition to network command & control systems. It has a field component of active duty Infantrymen and for a limited time British Army soldiers that work with the products in field environments for evaluation purposes.

Still in use today with the US military, albeit at a reduced capacity, the M60 machine gun is a well-known force to be reckoned with. With its ability to controllably lay down suppressive fire, “The Pig” (as it was affectionately known), was the back-bone of the infantry squad through the Vietnam War. The weapon was often cited as the single reason a wave attack was repulsed.