[Arme individuelle] Le programme MHS de l'US Army

[Serge]

Un fil pour suivre un programme que nombreux sont ceux qui le déclarent comme mort :

I posted an update story on Military.com this morning looking at the Army’s Modular Handgun System effort. The service is holding its second MHS industry day July 29.

This is not the first story I have written about the Army wanting to replace the M9 9mm pistol with a larger-caliber weapon, but the weapons officials seem set on doing just that.

Army weapons officials from Fort Benning, Ga., say the joint MHS effort will result in a “new gun, new ammo, new holster, everything,” according to Daryl Easlick, a project officer with the Army’s Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Ga.

“We have to do better than our current 9mm.”

The MHS will be an open-caliber competition that will evaluate larger rounds such as .357 Sig, .40 S&W and .45 ACP.

The story also points out that the FBI and several major police departments recently decided to return to using the 9mm round after finding that .40 caliber ammunition was causing excessive wear on its service pistols.

The heavier bullet and greater recoil over time resulted in frame damage to well respected makes such as Glock and Beretta, according to Ernest Langdon, a shooting instructor and respected competitive pistol shooter.

“Most of the guns in .40 caliber on the market right now were actually designed to be 9mm originally and then turned into .40 calibers later,” Langdon told Military.com.

Langdon served 12 years in the Marine Corps (1985-1987) where he was the chief instructor of the Second Marine Division Scout Sniper School and the High Risk Personnel Course. He’s well known in the small-arms community. Langdon has been a competitive pistol shooter for 15 years where he has won competitions in the International Defensive Pistol Association and two World Speed Shooting titles.

Langdon has worked for gun makers such as Beretta, Smith & Wesson, and Sig Sauer. He said he keeps going back to shooting the Beretta 92/M9 design because that’s what he’s used to, not because he thinks it’s better than Glock, S&W M&P, Sig or other models.

And just so it’s clear, Langdon isn’t endorsing the M9 or arguing that the military should keep it forever. Langdon does, however, believe that the 9mm is suited for general-purpose military use and doesn’t buy into the argument that caliber size equals “stopping power.”

Larger calibers, such as .40 S&W, have significantly more recoil than the 9mm making them much harder for the average shooter to shoot accurately, he said.

“I don’t think anybody would argue that shot placement is the most important for terminal ballistics,” Langdon said. “Even though you say a .45 is better than a 9mm, it’s still a pistol caliber. Chances are if it is a determined adversary, they are going to have to be shot multiple times regardless of the caliber.”

Army officials wouldn’t get specific about a timeline for MHS, but said that they did a “very thorough cost-benefit analysis” that supported replacing the M9 for all the services, Easlick said.

If you recall it was just last year that the Army awarded contracts worth more than $73 million to Military Hardware, LLC for G-Code holsters and $24.3 million contract to ADS Inc. for Serpa holsters for the M9.

http://kitup.military.com/2014/07/army-40-caliber-fbi-returns-9mm.html

[Kiriyama]

Je viens de lire des news à ce sujet sur Facebook. Que le .40 soit un "meilleur" calibre que le 9x19 et plus pratique que le .45 ce n'est pas nouveau mais ça créerait un nouveau standard dans les troupes de l'OTAN, non ? Les Etats-Unis seraient les seuls à utiliser ce calibre en dotation générale. Dans tous les cas, les Etats-Unis ont beaucoup de programmes d'armes légères qui traînent en longueur : rempalcement des M4A1, fusils d'assaut pour le SOCOM (SCAR ou autre), nouveau pistolet, nouveau fusils de précision en .338 pour le SOCOM... Ca parlotte, les propositions sont connues et cohérentes. On attend juste qu'ils se décident et, surtout, débloquent les fonds pour les financer.

[Serge]

US Army Issues Draft RFP for XM17 Modular Handgun System

We just received this notice from PEO Soldier. The XM17 Modular Handgun System is meant to replace the current M9 pistol across DoD.

XM17 draft request for proposals released

FORT BELVOIR, Va. (Jun. 17, 2015) – The U.S. Army Program Executive Office Soldier announced today that a draft solicitation for a new military handgun was released on the Federal Business Opportunities website. This announcement follows the agency’s notice that the Army intends to host a fourth industry day July 7-8 at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., to discuss the document and receive feedback from industry.

The draft lays out the latest proposed competition schedule, procedures and requirements for the XM17 Modular Handgun System. These were modified as a result of industry feedback and DoD’s decision to allow use of special purpose ammunition. It gives industry a final opportunity to review and provide feedback on the Army’s refined strategy prior to release of the final RFP.

Program Manager for Soldier Weapons, Colonel Scott Armstrong said the Army will procure the XM17 through full and open competition.

“We expect to release the final solicitation in 2016,” he said. “This will be followed a phased down-select process that will run through 2017.”

“When all is said and done,” Armstrong said, “the XM17 will provide Warfighters with greater accuracy, target acquisition, ergonomic design.” “The new handgun will also be more reliable, durable and easier to maintain.”

“Each vendor may provide up to two separate proposals of handguns with different calibers to the Army for evaluation and testing in early 2016,” he said.

“Our strategy will take full advantage of a world-class industrial base. Vendors must submit mature designs that are production ready. They are free to select a caliber that best meets the XM17 requirements.”

The XM17 is expected to be more effective and lethal than the Army’s current pistol. Current plans call for the Army to purchase more than 280,000 handguns from a single vendor, with full rate production scheduled for 2018. The Army also plans to buy approximately 7,000 compact versions of the handgun. The other military services participating in the XM17 program may order an additional 212,000 systems.

The updated Draft RFP page is www.fbo.gov and the latest version of the draft is now available.

http://soldiersystems.net/2015/06/17/us-army-issues-draft-rfp-for-modular-handgun/