Shift in US Coast Guard’s Weapon Procurement Program

Shift in US Coast Guard’s Weapon Procurement Program

This post is also available in: heעברית (Hebrew)

The US Coast Guard has selected and started fielding the Glock 19 Gen5 MOS (Modular Optic System) pistol as the service’s standard-issue sidearm of choice.

Nestled under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Coast Guard plans on purchasing the pistol through an existing contract with the Customs and Border Patrol, according to the company.

The new model will replace the .40 caliber Sig Sauer P229 DAK that the service originally selected to replace its aging 9mm Beretta M9 arsenal back in 2006.

News of the Glock procurement comes two years after Sig Sauer claimed that the Coast Guard, alongside every branch of the U.S. armed forces, planned on placing orders from the company for the Army’s new MHS (Modular Handgun System).

The Army awarded Sig Sauer an MHS contract worth up to $580 million in January 2017 to deliver up to 195,000 of (mostly) the full-size M17 variant to the service over the next decade.

Both the Marine Corps and Air Force began procuring the MHS for fielding to service members earlier this year. It’s unclear why the Coast Guard opted to adopt the Glock Gen5 MOS over Sig Sauer’s MHS, according to taskandpurpose.com. 

According to Glock, the decision was guided by CBP’s “extensive solicitation process, which included independent testing by the Institute of Justice Laboratories, comprehensive field evaluations, and direct input from 16,000 CBP law enforcement personnel.”