The Pentagon has started an arms war by announcing that it is looking for a new gun contract after 30 years of using the Beretta as its standard-issue military sidearm, prompting gun manufacturers to jump into battle by drawing up proposals that could mean years of lucrative contracts, according to
CNN Money.
There is another financial bonus to winning the contract — semi-automatic sidearms chosen by the military tend to reach iconic status after being featured in action movies like the James Bond franchise, resulting in civilian gun owners buying them as well.
Smith & Wesson and General Dynamics have announced that they are entering the M&P, a popular pistol, into the competition. Beretta is also entering the fray in the hope of extending its deal, and Glock is expected to make a bid.
Smith & Wesson says its polymer M&P pistol is perfect for the Army, which is seeking "a new modular handgun system that can be easily adjusted to fit all hand sizes."
After nearly 90 years of using Colt’s M1911, including through two World Wars, the Army began using the aluminum-framed Beretta M9 in 1985, which is manufactured by a 500-year-old Italian company with a factory in the U.S.
The Beretta was the "lethal weapon" in the 1987 blockbuster movie "Lethal Weapon."
Gabriele de Plano, vice president of Beretta’s military sales, told CNN Money that his company has sold 600,000 M9s to the Department of Defense, mostly for the Army, and has a contract to sell 20,000 more.
But the lightweight Glock, an Austrian-made, partially plastic pistol, has become popular in recent years with police and civilians after it was featured in the hit film "Die Hard."
The Army has not revealed whether it plans to use plastic-framed handguns like the Glock, but has already switched from the heavy wood-and-metal M-14 during the Vietnam era to the mostly plastic M-16, and then to the even lighter M4, CNN Money reported.
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