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Thread: The USAF won’t be receiving the M17 pistol

  1. #1

    The USAF won’t be receiving the M17 pistol

    Because they (we) will be getting the M18 instead. I had the chance a couple of weeks ago to sit down with the senior NCO in charge of the the AF’s small arms procurement during a class I was attending. Because I like handguns, pretty much all my questions were related to the timing/procurement of whatever new pistol we’re getting. We had some solid gems in this conversation, which I’ll just sum up in bullet points:

    AF is getting the M18 (Compact) for the entire of the force except certain AFSCs in AFSOC which will keep the Glock 19. The Center decided to go with the M18 instead of a two weapons solution like the Army is doing. The simple rational for all of is that “the M18 does everything we need it to do, why complicate things?”

    M18s will be issued in the following order: AFOSI first, since they’ve been crying about their M11s forever, followed by CATM shops, then straightleg Security Forces, then battlefield Airman that aren’t assigned to AFSOC (TAC/P, EOD, etc), then forcewide. All Defenders should have them in their holsters by 2022.

    Holsters are (thank god) going to remain the Safariland, but the M18 is also going to be issued with a WML, and the holster has to accommodate that. Right now the front-runner appears to be the TLR-1, but that could change.

    The AF is considering the possibility of slide mounted RDS but nothing is in the pipeline yet.

    That’s all I remember off the top of my head, but I’ll happy to answer specific questions.

  2. #2
    Member Wheeler's Avatar
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    As much crap as folks talk about the USAF, they don’t screw around when it comes to handguns and handgun training like the other services do.
    Men freely believe that which they desire.
    Julius Caesar

  3. #3
    Site Supporter psalms144.1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wheeler View Post
    As much crap as folks talk about the USAF, they don’t screw around when it comes to handguns and handgun training like the other services do.
    Which is directly related to the fact that it's run by pilots, and pilots don't ever want to be in the same room with a long gun (George being the obvious exception) - so handguns are darn near "it" for the majority of decision makers.

  4. #4
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    USAF spends really, really big $$ on planes, missiles, etc. - they treat "Soldier"-like stuff as "Budget Dust" - they probably just used a Purchasing "P" card for new pistols. Why sweat the small stuff?

  5. #5
    What’s your thoughts on the M17/M18?

  6. #6
    My unit has 5 each M17 and M18 we borrowed from Picatinny Arsenal until we get our alottment later this year for our courses. So far they both work fine, and the students like them. Doesnt seem to do anything better than the M9s other than a friendlier grip for those of us with smaller hands.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by psalms144.1 View Post
    Which is directly related to the fact that it's run by pilots, and pilots don't ever want to be in the same room with a long gun (George being the obvious exception) - so handguns are darn near "it" for the majority of decision makers.
    Huh? What? You have confused me.
    "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master"

  8. #8
    Member Wheeler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by psalms144.1 View Post
    Which is directly related to the fact that it's run by pilots, and pilots don't ever want to be in the same room with a long gun (George being the obvious exception) - so handguns are darn near "it" for the majority of decision makers.
    I’m not quite sure how you came to whatever conclusion you’re trying to share, or what that conclusion is for that matter. Perhaps you could explain it a bit?
    Men freely believe that which they desire.
    Julius Caesar

  9. #9
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    It's fair to say USAF has a good pistol program relative to other conventional forces because they have more people with legit need of a pistol vs a long gun.

  10. #10
    Site Supporter JSGlock34's Avatar
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    I'm not surprised - I had posted this in another thread, but it seems relevant here...

    In many ways, I'm more interested in the future of the compact M18 than the full size M17. I wonder if the overall concept of a military service pistol may be changing and perhaps is no longer synonymous with a full sized handgun. The modern battlefield has changed. A lightweight, compact handgun can serve a variety of roles, whether carried overtly or concealed. SOCOM figured this out a while ago, standardizing around the Glock 19, and perhaps this thinking is starting to trickle down to the conventional side of the force. For example, I've seen some indications that the Marines may be more interested in general issue of the M18 than the M17, taking a page out of the SOCOM playbook.
    "When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man."

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