Despite rumors to the contrary, Beretta told me that the Army/DoD absolutely is reviewing Beretta’s ECP, or Engineering Change Proposal, for the M9 service pistol. The hope is that the M9A3 comes close enough to hitting the requirements proposed in the competition for a new MHS, or Modular Handgun System, that the Army and Air Force forgo the project and just stick with the M9 platform. Indeed, the M9A3 does meet ~86% of the MHS targets, and sticking with it would mean saving hundreds of millions of dollars. Here’s a 1-pager on the M9A3, and above is video of the press conference Beretta held at SHOT Show. They also discussed how this is the 100th anniversary of Beretta’s first semi-automatic handgun, the Model 1915 seen after the jump, as well as the 30th anniversary of the M9 becoming the official sidearm of U.S. armed forces. Photos follow. . .
The Model 1915, Beretta’s first semi-automatic pistol. Note the open slide and muzzle design that has carried forward all the way to the newest M9A3 today.
To commemorate 100 years of Beretta pistols, this special Centennial Edition 92 will be sold:
Frame-mounted safety and all.
1301 Tactical with integrated light:
Gabriele DePlano with the M9A3:
