Corps considers 2 guns for new MARSOC .45 - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Corps considers 2 guns for new MARSOC .45

LAS VEGAS — The competition to provide Marine special operators with new .45-caliber semiautomatic pistols is beginning to take shape, with at least three companies submitting samples to the Marine Corps and others bowing out.

Colt Defense of Hartford, Conn., and Springfield Armory of Geneseo, Ill., sent samples of their latest 1911 pistols to acquisition officers this fall, company officials said Jan. 18 during the Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show and Conference, known as SHOT Show, in Las Vegas. The Corps is expected to seek proposals from the defense industry soon.

The M45 Close Quarter Battle Pistol is modeled after earlier versions of the semi-automatic 1911 pistol used since the 1980s by Force Reconnaissance units. The Corps could buy between 400 and 12,000 as part of a contract worth up to $22.5 million, according to Marine Corps Systems Command.

Earlier versions were called the MEU (SOC) pistol, short for Marine expeditionary unit (special operations capable). Weapons experts at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., have hand-assembled 1911 pistols chambered for .45-caliber Automatic Colt Pistol ammo for years, fielding them primarily to Force Recon and Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command.

With both communities growing, however, the Corps is seeking an off-the-shelf option.

Force Recon was brought back in 2008 after a two-year hiatus designed to help the Corps stand up and round out MARSOC. The Corps’ special operations command was activated in 2006, and is working to grow to about 2,700 personnel by 2014.

The Corps hasn’t said that the next-generation pistol must be a 1911-style model, but industry sources at SHOT Show said they assume it will be. The next weapon ideally will fire with the Corps’ existing .45-caliber pistol magazines, Marine officials said.

Colt tweaked its 01070RG rail gun pistol and sent 10 prototypes to Quantico in the fall, said Greg Rozon, a product development engineering manager at Colt.

The civilian 1911 rail gun usually has a stainless steel finish and rosewood grips, but Colt’s prototypes for the Corps have a desert-color Cercoat finish, eliminating glare on the weapon and making it less identifiable at a distance. They also have more stainless steel internal components to reduce corrosion. They’re equipped with a popular night sight made by Novak of Parkersburg, W.Va. It utilizes tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, to power the optic, which is mounted on a Picatinny rail.

Springfield Armory sent the Corps six copies of its PX9105ML pistol for evaluation, said Larry Collinson, a production manager with the company. The company calls it the Full-Sized MC Operator, with the “MC” standing for Marine Corps. The pistol has a black slide with a green chassis. It also includes tritium night sights and has been sold to the Corps in small quantities before. The Corps also has bought Springfield Armory 1911 slides in the past to use on pistols assembled at Quantico, Collinson said.

A smaller company not present at SHOT Show, Karl Lippard Designs of Colorado Springs, Colo., has submitted a proposal to adopt its New Generation Model 1911 A2 pistol. Lippard Designs has not been a big player for government contracts in the past, but says it has developed a pistol capable of accurately engaging targets beyond 400 yards — rifle distance.

Company officials said tight Marine Corps deadlines set in the fall prevented them from submitting weapons for consideration at the time, but they are available now.

Other 1911 manufacturers have bowed out on the competition.

Kimber America of Elmsford, N.Y., is widely considered a player in the 1911 civilian and law enforcement market but decided against submitting samples to the Corps in the fall, company officials said. They cited time restraints and other competing business priorities.

Smith & Wesson of Springfield, Mass., also produces 1911s, including a new line called the enhanced “E” series. The weapons won’t be in production until the end of the month, however, and company officials decided it would be best to not rush the Corps prototypes last fall before they were proven, said Joe Bergeron, director of defense programs for Smith & Wesson.