Winchester Ammunition has been selected for a $38 million contract by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). This contract will be for 9x19mm (9mm Luger) handgun ammunition. The selected 9mm frangible ammunition will be used for close-quarter battle (CQB) combat and indoor/outdoor CQB training.

Since World War I, Winchester has been the U.S. Army’s largest commercial supplier of small-caliber ammunition. Currently, Winchester is the largest supplier of certified U.S. mil-spec small-caliber ammunition to the U.S. military. Winchester will assume full operational control of the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in October 2020. Lake City is the largest small-caliber ammunition military production facility in the United States. Winchester is a world leader in production of small caliber ammunition.

U.S. Military’s 9mm Handguns — SIG Sauer M17 and M18

How will all that Winchester 9mm ammo be used? This ammo will be loaded into the U.S. military’s latest M17/M18 handguns from SIG Sauer, as well as remaining older Beretta M9s. The SIG Sauer M17 and M18 are striker-fired service pistols. In 2017 the U.S. Army announced that a modified version of the SIG Sauer P320 had won the Army’s XM17 Modular Handgun System competition. The U.S. Air Force has also adopted the M17, while the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy will be issuing the smaller M18 pistols.

The M17 is the full-sized model while the smaller-sized carry model is designated M18. Both M17 and M18 service pistols are striker-fired handguns with polymer frames. The M17/M18 have proven reliable and popular with U.S. military personnel. The smaller M18 successfully completed a MHS material reliability test, which consisted of firing three M18 pistols to 12,000 rounds each for a total of 36,000 rounds.

The M17/M18s feature a coyote-tan PVD coated stainless steel slide, coyote-tan controls, a coyote-tan grip module. SIG offers both 17-round and 21-round magazines. These handguns can be equipped with SIGLITE sights (orange rear & green front). Models are available with removable night sight rear plates that can adapt to electro-optic red dot sights.