#USArmy

SIG Sauer have announced they will present the US Army’s ‘Old Guard’ with special ceremonial versions of the US Army’s new M17 Modular Handgun System pistol. If you ever wondered what a more ‘traditional’, non polymer M17 might look now we have some idea.

Last week we reported that the US Army had selected six entries from vendors for its Sub Compact Weapon programme to find a new compact, concealable 9x19mm submachine gun for issue to personal protection details. One other manufacturer we spoke to, Handl Defense, confirmed that their submission had been rejected on what they believed to be a procedural basis. Handl Defense’s entry is specifically interesting because it offers a number of options for future upgrades not only to the SCW but also the US Army’s wider M4 inventory.

Déjà vu? Not quite. The US Army has announced the companies which have been down-selected for the Sub Compact Weapon programme. Six of the companies which responded to the Army’s Prototype Opportunity Notice have been selected for testing and evaluation and there are some surprising absences when we compare it with the previous round of vendors that were selected before the Army’s previous abortive RFI was abandoned.

The US Army’s Product Manager, Soldier Precision Targeting Devices (PdM SPTD) has released a Request for Information to conduct market research for potential sources that are able to provide a ‘Pistol Aiming Light’ (PAiL) that fulfills the army’s needs for the new Modular Handgun System.

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command is investigating a serious equipment and ammunition theft from the US Army’s Fort Hood base. A quantity of ammunition and Chemical, Biological, Radological and Nuclear equipment has been stolen from a storage cage at Fort Hood in Texas.

The US Army’s Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport, Tennessee is looking expand its already massive facility. Run by BAE Systems and US Army Materiel Command, the Holston Ammunition Plant, originally established during World War Two, already currently covers 6,020 acres and spans across two counties in Tennessee.

Back in late July the US Army relaunched its Sub Compact Weapon program to find a suitable 9x19mm submachine gun for close protection details. The new deadline to submit designs was 9th August, but before then the US Army’s Contracting Command, New Jersey, posted some answers to some 40 questions raised by vendors on the Sub Compact Weapon’s FedBizOps notice page.

The US Army has officially cancelled its XM25 ‘Punisher’ Counter Defilade Target Engagement weapon system after years of development and funding problems. The program first ran into trouble back in 2016, when the Department of Defense Inspector General published a damning report stating that the handle of the program had been mishandled.

The Department of Defence has announced the award of a $50 million contract to ADS for the supply of holsters for the Army’s new Modular Handgun System. Atlantic Diving Supply Inc. Beat off bids from six other interested companies to win the contract to provide holsters for the full size M17 and compact M18.

We at TFB have been following the US Army’s Sub Compact Weapon programme closely. It was initially announced at the beginning of May, this was quickly followed by the news that weapons submitted by no less than 13 companies would be evaluated. At that point the programme’s contracts had an estimated worth of almost $260,000. Then in the first week of July it was announced that the programme was to be cancelled, pending a review of the Army’s requirements.

With the adoption of the SIG Sauer P320 last year, the US Army has been searching for a new laser/light module for its M17 / M18 Modular Handgun System. Back in June, we covered the module shown off by Program Executive Office Soldier at a Pentagon Close Combat Lethality Tech Day. This was an offering from Streamlight based on their TLR-8. But according to the latest reports, there is another contender.

The US Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, has issued a sole source notice to find potential future manufacturers of the Army’s 7.62x51mm M240 general purpose machine guns. This is an exercise in market research as the Army try to identify potential sources for future M240 production.

Confirming our report back in June that the US Army’s future Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle program has identified five current contestants and awarded opportunity notice awards to facilitate prototype development.

Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, have issued a synopsis/solicitation to negotiate a five year indefinite quantity contract with firm fixed price orders for a number of SIG Sauer weapon systems including rifles, submachine guns, pistols and suppressors.

On the 26 June the US Army posted a pre-solicitation notice stating that they are looking for an optic for mounted machine guns. The US Army Contracting Command notice calls for an optic which can be mounted on both the 7.62x51mm M240B, the .50 calibre M2/M2A1 Machine Guns and the 40mm Mk19 grenade launcher.