In late January, the U.S. Army ended a nearly decade-long competition to supply the service with a new handgun, awarding a contract valued at $580 million to Sig Sauer. Glock was the second-place finisher and military watchers expected the  company to protest the decision. Last Friday, Glock officially filed its protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

The Army’s January decision to replace the Beretta M9 that has been in service for about 30 years first attracted four bidders: Sig Sauer, Glock, FN America and Smith & Wesson, a division of American Outdoor Brands Corp. (NASDAQ: AOBC). The latter two were eliminated from contention in December.

Sig Sauer’s P320 MHS (modular handgun system) includes interchangeable grip modules and can be adjusted for frame size and caliber by the operator. Glock’s entries were its Glock 17 and Glock 19.

The Sig Sauer P320 MHS can use 9mm, .357SIG and .40S&W rounds. The company is reported to have submitted both the 9mm and .40 caliber round for consideration, and the Army chose to stick with the NATO standard 9mm round.

Unconfirmed reports in January indicated that the Army plans to acquire 280,000 of the weapons with a possible increase to as many as 500,000, including accessories and ammunition. The Army is also believed to be purchasing about 7,000 of the compact version of the weapon designed to fit smaller hand sizes.

Sig Sauer is a subsidiary of Germany’s Luke & Ortmeier Gruppe, with an operation based in New Hampshire.

The GAO has until June 5, 2017, to make a decision on Glock’s protest. The filing is available here.

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