LAS VEGAS — Sig Sauer recently won a contract to provide handguns to the entire U.S. military, as well as new rifles, automatic weapons, optics, suppressors, and possibly a new medium machine gun to the Army. will probably be the only brand for the U.S. military. A gun used by some military personnel while on duty.
Sig Sauer did not display its products at this year's Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, but the company's dominance in recent U.S. military small arms contracts could have a decades-long impact on the market. Highly sexual. The M16 and M4 have been used as military rifles for more than half a century. A previous gun, a Beretta M9 pistol, served him for over 30 years.
Historically, companies have grown in brand recognition and commercial sales, in part due to success in military contracts.
In 2017, Sig Sauer challenged the handgun contract when the Army decided to replace the M9. Sig Sauer won the Modular Handgun System Award for offering both his standard-sized 9mm handgun, his M17, and his compact-sized weapon, his M18. Later, the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps also adopted this sidearm.
Since then, the company has shipped 480,000 handguns to the U.S. military. The ROMEO M17 pistol optic was also recently added to the munitions inventory and is an item that units can order, but it is not currently fielded with the pistol.
Shortly after winning the handgun contract, Sig Sauer entered the competition to replace the M4 carbine and M249 squad automatic rifle for Army close combat units under the military's Next Generation Squad Weapons program.
In 2022, the Army selected Sig Sauer's M7 as its new rifle and the M250 as its automatic rifle. Once fully fielded, his two weapons will become the primary weapons of his 100,000-plus close combat troops, ranging from infantry and scouts to combat engineers.
In the same year, U.S. Special Operations Command selected the Sig Sauer MCX Rattler as a less distinctive personal defense weapon. The compact rifle can be configured to fire 5.56 mm or .300 Blackout caliber bullets.
During the same period, Sig Sauer's TANGO6T rifle optic won contracts for SOCOM and Army squad-designated marksman rifles.
“We are essentially becoming the small arms company for the U.S. military,” Tom Taylor, Sig Sauer's chief marketing officer and vice president of sales, told Military Times.
Taylor declined to provide specific sales figures for Sig Sauer products.
Notable options other than Sig Sauer remain in the military's arsenal. The Army's close combat units will continue to use the M4. The Marine Corps has tested the NGSW, but has not adopted it. In 2017, the military fielded its own M4 replacement, the Heckler & Koch M27 infantry automatic rifle.
Additionally, the company is currently participating in the SOCOM Light Medium Machine Gun program. This effort involves the .338 Norma Magnum machine gun.
The M4 is a later version of the original M16 that entered service with the military during the Vietnam War and has had a major impact on the U.S. civilian gun market in recent decades. Armalite (AR-style) weapons pervade popular culture in depictions of firearms in movies, video games, and other media.
Forces that have used an M16, M4, or M9 over the past several decades are more likely to be familiar with the weapon and possibly purchase one for post-op operations.
The next generation of soldiers will carry a Sig Sauer rifle or machine gun, use Sig Sauer optics, and have a Sig Sauer pistol strapped to their side.
“For AAFES and the millions of young men and women who go to war, the Sig will be the only firearm they use,” Taylor said.
The entertainment industry is already taking notice as squad weapons, handguns and other Sig Sauer products find their way into military applications.
Video games like “Call of Duty” are already incorporating the M7 and M250 into their next game deployments, Taylor said.
“From now on, military shows should move to handguns because they are already in use,” he added.
Correction: This article has been updated to show the number of modular handgun systems delivered to the Army and to use the correct nomenclature for the ROMEO M17 optic.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government, and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for his co-authored project on witness intimidation. Todd is a veteran of the Iraq War.
