Joint Service Small Arms Program

American weapon standardization coordination program

The Joint Service Small Arms Program, abbreviated JSSAP, was created to coordinate weapon standardization between the various United States armed service branches.

By 1983, a new program was started, now under the XM9 name. These later trials did not have all of the same pistols competing, as some had dropped out, and some were added to the competition. This time the Army required 30 handguns and spares for each submitted handgun design. The magazine capacity requirement was changed from 10 to 13. The price was now a fixed price requirement for a procurement of 220,000 pieces. These changed requirements caused the elimination of some handguns which has participated in the first trial. Only two of the handguns submitted for the 1977 trial competed in the 1983 trial. They were the Beretta 92FB and Smith & Wesson 459. Heckler & Koch submitted a modified version of the Heckler & Koch P7 now with a 10 round Magazine and designated P7A10. The Sig Sauer company submitted a new handgun which had been created for the competition in their SIG Sauer P226. In February 1982 issued this statement; "The Army, in its role as Defense Department executive agent for 9mm handgun procurement, has cancelled the procurement. It was not possible to make an award because the submitted weapon samples substantially failed to meet the essential requirements contained in the procurement solicitation. The Department of Defense intends to reexamine its requirements for a new handgun." This cause a firestorm of protest. Supporters in the military and Congress denounced the Army tests as rigged and a fiasco. The last line in particular was interpreted as allowing the purchase of the M1911A1 models in 9mm or .45 ACP. Colt exacerbated this thought when they subsequently offer an unsolicited proposal to convert existing M1911A1 handguns to 9mm. The Army's response was that all the contenders had failed in areas of reliable operations in low temperature, sand and mud. No data to support this was provided. This denial was justified that since a new competition might be held that data might be competition sensitive. (Note: Why? Having this data would simply allow the competitors to see where they needed to improve)

An unsupported rumor was that the adverse dirty conditions test required 1000 rounds without failure although 800 would be acceptable. A claim was made that none of the firearms achieved even 600 rounds. As a result of this there were threats of lawsuits by the makers who felt defamed and worse a Congressional investigation. The Steyr GB pistol was submitted during these trials. It performed well in many areas but failed reliability testing. The Walther P88 failed the Drop test and was found to have cracked frames (2 units) after 7000 rounds. During the dry mud test, the S&W, H&K, and Beretta passed with nearly perfect scores but the Sig only received 79 percent. The Walther failed both the wet and dry mud tests. The purchase price for the Beretta M9 handgun was $178.50 per unit. : Walther of Germany submitted the Walther P88. : Heckler & Koch, also of Germany, submitted two pistols, the Heckler & Koch P9S and the Heckler & Koch VP70. : Smith & Wesson of the United States submitted their Smith & Wesson 459.
: Star Bonifcacio Echevveria S. A. of Spain submitted their Star M28. : Steyr of Austria submitted the Steyr GB.

The later XM9 trials, done because other manufacturers contested the results, did not have all of the same pistols competing, and added a few others while retaining the ones that satisfactorily completed the previous trials. Eight pistols were competing. : Beretta of Italy entered their Beretta 92F, which was an improvement of their previous entry, the Beretta 92S 1. This emerged as the winner of these trials as well, and would be eventually adopted as the Beretta M9. : SIG Sauer (under the name SigArms) introduced their new pistol specifically designed for the trials, the P226. The P226 was the runner up to the M9, as both were the only two to satisfactorily pass the trials. However, the P226 would ultimately not be chosen. In a later competition for a compact service pistol, SIG Sauer's P228 became the M11 pistol. : FN Herstal of Belgium gave up on the other two designs and submitted again their FN Double Action Hi Power, a modified double action version of the Browning Hi Power. : Colt's Manufacturing Company of the United States submitted the Colt SSP, a stainless steel double action pistol. : Walther of Germany submitted the Walther P88. : Heckler & Koch, also of Germany, gave up on their previous two efforts and entered the P7. : Smith & Wesson of the United States submitted their Smith & Wesson 459.
: Steyr of Austria submitted the Steyr GB.

In the 2000s, a new joint service handgun was started, the Joint Combat Pistol which was the result of a merger of two earlier programs: the U. S. Army's Future Handgun System and United States Special Operations Command's SOF Combat Pistol. However, the Army ultimately pulled out of the competition. As a result of the Modular Handgun System trials, the Sig Sauer P320 was selected as the new service pistol for the United States Armed Forces. The military designations are M17/M18 for the full size and compact models respectively.