Swiss Army opts for most economical pistol model

Swiss Army opts for most favourable pistol model Keystone-SDA

The SIG Sauer P320 will be the Swiss Army's new service pistol. The army intends to procure 50,000 of them in a first instalment. It is the most budget-friendly model, according to Armasuisse. A mid double-digit million euro sum is earmarked for this.

There were three models to choose from: Glock G45 Gen 5, Heckler & Koch SFP9 and SIG Sauer P320. All of them were subjected to “intensive and comprehensive technical testing, a troop trial and the examination of logistical aspects”, the Federal Armaments Office Armasuisse wrote on Thursday.

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Only the Glock G45 met all the criteria but wasn’t chosen.

“However, an overall armaments policy and economic assessment showed that the SIG Sauer P320 model had substantial advantages in relevant areas,” Armasuisse wrote.

The SIG Sauer did not fulfil one technical requirement and also led to “non-approval for troop suitability”. However, all safety-relevant aspects were assured. The manufacturer has now promised “binding” improvements.

The cheapest option

According to a review, the new service pistol has the lowest total costs compared to the other test models over its planned service life of 30 years. A total of 140,000 of these are needed. Armasuisse initially intends to order 50,000. According to the current budget, an amount in the mid double-digit millions has been set aside for the procurement.

In addition, the manufacturer SIG Sauer has announced the relocation of key production elements to Switzerland. The procurement would thus be in line with the government’s armaments policy strategy. This envisages maintaining and developing security-relevant industrial capabilities in Switzerland.

The SIG Sauer P320 thus replaces the previous standard pistol – the SIG P220, which was introduced 50 years ago.

Adapted from German by DeepL/ac

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