Pentagon confirms SIG Sauer M17, M18 pistols are safe

The U.S. Department of War and the Department of the Air Force have both confirmed the SIG Sauer M17 and M18 pistols are safe and reliable, following separate inspections that included a physical examination of nearly 114,000 firearms.

The Department of War issued its confirmation August 7, stating that testing involving more than 1.5 million rounds fired found “all investigated incidents of alleged ‘uncommanded discharges’ have been traced back to the trigger being pulled, and not due to an issue with the firearm.” The full statement is available on the U.S. Army’s Capability Program Executive website.

The Department of the Air Force inspected 113,479 M18 pistols and said the results “reinforce confidence and assurance that the M18 remains safe and reliable for DAF missions.” The department’s inspection found that “100% of the inspected weapons exhibited no signs of any condition that could have allowed the weapons to experience an ‘uncommanded discharge.'” The full Air Force letter is dated January 23, 2026.

The reviews followed an incident in July 2025 in which Airman Brayden Lovan was killed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, after his holstered M18 reportedly discharged. Air Force Global Strike Command paused use of the M18 across its units following the death. An initial evaluation found no weapon discharges attributable to a malfunction, and Global Strike Command reinstated the M18 the following month while the Department of the Air Force completed its broader inspection, summarized in the January letter. An airman was later arrested and charged in connection with Lovan’s death, according to Task & Purpose.

The M18 is a carry-size version of SIG Sauer’s P320 pistol, while the M17 is the full-size variant. Both are part of the Modular Handgun System the U.S. Army selected in 2017 to replace the Beretta M9, in a contract valued at approximately $580 million for 500,000 handguns. Unlike the civilian P320, the M17 and M18 include an external manual thumb safety that the Army required before awarding the contract, according to court filings cited in a New Jersey attorney general lawsuit against the company.

The military confirmations arrive amid extensive civilian litigation over the P320 platform. More than 100 lawsuits have been filed nationwide alleging the pistol can discharge without the trigger being pulled, according to legal trackers reviewing the litigation as of early 2026. Two federal juries have ruled against SIG Sauer in separate cases: a Georgia jury awarded $2.35 million in 2024, and a Philadelphia jury awarded $11 million the same year after finding the P320’s design defective. New Jersey’s attorney general sued SIG Sauer in 2025 seeking a state-level sales restriction. The Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission separately banned the P320 from law enforcement training facilities following an uncommanded discharge on a firing range, citing six similar incidents involving military M17 and M18 pistols at U.S. bases since 2021 in a report issued in February 2025.

SIG Sauer has consistently disputed the design-defect allegations and has not issued a recall.

“The U.S. military analysis further validates the technology, engineering, and performance behind the P320,” said Phil Strader, vice president of consumer affairs at SIG Sauer. “This was an unprecedented level of inspection, extensive for both the volume of firearms analyzed and for the level of evaluation on each product. Nearly 114,000 firearms were disassembled to methodically examine individual components and reassembled for final functional testing, and the product stood up to the test.”

The M17 and M18 remain in active service across the U.S. military. Neither department’s public statements specify how many total M17 and M18 pistols remain fielded beyond the 113,479 examined in the Air Force inspection, and civilian litigation over the P320 platform remains ongoing in multiple jurisdictions.