initial production and first deliveries to U.S. armed forces. MHS contract awarded to SIG Sauer The Army Times reported on January 19, 2017, that the contract for the new US handgun had been awarded to SIG Sauer Inc. on January 18, 2017. Several news sources at the 2017 Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, as well as SIG Sauer, stated that the SIG Sauer P320 had been selected as the winner of the $580 million contract, for both full-sized M17 and compact M18 models. The 9 mm version of the pistol was chosen, with the contract allowing the government to purchase XM1152 FMJ and XM1153 Special Purpose (SP) ammunition and training rounds. An Army press release stated, "The Army determined that this MHS (full size handgun, compact handgun, ammunition, and ancillary components) was the best value in terms of its performance capability, the terms and conditions of the vendor's proposal, and price." Introduction into service November 27, 2017 the 101st Airborne Division received the first of the M17 handguns and gear that go along with it. Post-introduction testing In January 2018, the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation published its report on the testing of the XM17, which highlighted some deficiencies. Notably, the weapon initially performed poorly in drop tests, causing a discharge when dropped, this issue was fixed by replacing the trigger group with components lighter in weight. Additionally, the weapon performed poorly with ball ammunition, causing several double ejections (ejecting a live round simultaneously with the spent casing of the round just fired) and stoppages. The analysis of this problem is still ongoing. The weapon performed well in other fields, with the exception of the mean rounds between stoppage failure, which is related to the previously noted issue. Controversy and Legal challenges The outcome of the XM17 competition created controversy within the firearms industry. The entries from Glock and SIG Sauer were down-selected as the two finalists of the competition. Once down-selected, the two finalists are supposed to undergo a second phase of Production Verification Testing (PVT) which includes a 22,500-round endurance test as well as environmental testing. However, the XM17 contract was awarded to SIG Sauer before these tests could be carried out. Explicit reasoning for this is unknown, although it has been attributed in-part to SIG Sauer aggressively underbidding their cost per handgun. Shortly after, on February 24, 2017, Glock filed a protest of the contract award