Glock submitted these models as part of the Army’s initiative to replace its Cold War-era M9 9mm pistol, and the photos appear three weeks after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied the company’s February 24 protest against the service using Sig Sauer, Inc., winner of the competition, for its new Modular Handgun System.
The Newington, New Hampshire-based company was awarded the 10-year, $580-million contract in January. Sig Sauer's P320 Handgun can accommodate extended and standard capacity magazines and can be outfitted with silencers as well, Military.com reported.
GAO Managing Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law Ralph O. White wrote in a statement at the time that "GAO denied the challenge to the interpretation of the solicitation, finding that the RFP allowed the Army to make only one award, although up to three awards were permitted by the RFP’s terms," according to Law 360.
He added that "GAO also denied the challenge to the Army’s evaluation of Glock’s proposal on the basis that any errors did not prejudice Glock in the competition."
Glock insists their weapon would have been chosen had it been able to go through complete testing, and that the contract was improperly valued.
"The focus of Glock, Inc.’s protest was that the US Army did not complete the testing outlined in its Request for Proposal (RFP) before awarding the MHS contract to Sig Sauer based only on limited initial testing,” the company wrote in a statement. “During this initial testing, there were no significant differences between the Glock and Sig pistols based upon the technical factors that were evaluated. In fact, Sig Sauer was awarded the MHS contract prematurely based upon price."
The 101st Airborne Division air assault unit will be the first group to receive the new service pistol, according to Army weapons officials.
