| M9 Pistol |
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The M9 pistol is a pistol of the U.S. military adopted in the 1980s. It is essentially a Beretta 92F , or 92FS later. It won a competition in the 1980s to replace the 1911A1 as the primary handgun of U.S. armed forces, beating out many other contenders. Some other models have been adopted to a lesser extent (namely the M11 Pistol ), and older, or different models remain in use in certain niches. It officially entered Army service in 1990 according to the official Army website. It is scheduled to be replaced in the Joint Combat Pistol (which absorbed an earlier ''Future Handgun System'' and ''SOF Combat Pistol'' programs). TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION A Semi-automatic , Single-action / Double-action pistol. The M9 has a 15-round staggered magazine with a reversible magazine release button that can be positioned for either right- or left-handed shooters. Specifications:
ADOPTION: JSSAP, XM9, AND XM10 TRIALS Under the Joint Service Small Arms Program which was run by the U.S. Air Force, a number of 9 mm pistol designs were trialed in the late 1970s to find a replacement for the 1911. The 9mm round was selected for compliance with NATO standardization. In 1980, the Beretta 92S-1 design was chosen over entries from Colt , Smith & Wesson , various FN models, the Star M28 , and Heckler & Koch models. The result, however, was challenged by the Army and new tests were to be done (this time run by the Army rather than the Air Force). In the new test ''all'' the pistols were rejected, and in a second test a year later they were all rejected ''again''. Another year later, in 1984, the trials started again with updated entries from S&W, Beretta, SIG-Sauer, H&K, Walther, Steyr, and FN. Beretta won this competition but there was a new trial, the XM10 competition, in 1988. This resulted in two different trials that were more limited, but resulted in the Beretta design being kept (with an update to it happening during the same time frame). An April 2002 presentation by the Natick Soldier Center presented by LTC Charlie Dean and SFC Sam Newland reported on lessons learned from M9 use in Afghanistan (such as use during Operation Anaconda ):
It should be noted that the magazines (including the springs) issued for use with the M9 are not produced by Beretta, but are made by an aftermarket manufacturer. Many firearms experts maintain that the only reliable magazines to use with any pistol are those produced by the pistol's manufacturer (also called "OEM", or "Original Equipment Manufacturer"). SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |