Atlantic Diving Supply awarded $49 million for M17, M18 holsters

July 31 (UPI) -- Atlantic Diving Supply has received a $49 million contract by the U.S. Army for holsters to be used with the Modular Handgun System M17 and M18 pistols.

The contract, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, was awarded as the Army has been looking for a holster that can hold the gun with or without a light or aiming laser mounted to it.

The Sig Sauer M17 handgun is the U.S. Army replacement for the aging M9 Beretta, which has been in use since the 1980s. It is a derivative of the Sig P320.

The pistol features a modular design allowing it to be customized to the user and will continue to use standard 9mm ammunition. It is without an external hammer, allowing it to be used with increased safety.

It has glow-in-the-dark tritium night sights and can easily be modified to mount a external red-dot sight. Testing has shown it to be highly accurate for a handgun, according to the U.S. Army.

The M18 is a more compact version with a shorter barrel for use by military police investigators and other positions that require a smaller frame.

Work locations and associated funding on the contract will be determined with each order, the Pentagon said, with the contract set to run through July 2023.