FBI Going Back To 9mm

Continuing a trend to steer away from larger handgun calibers for law enforcement, the FBI will be soliciting vendors, i.e. firearms manufacturers, for commercial off the shelf (COTS) semi-automatic pistols chambered for the 9 x 19mm round for future test and evaluation.  The FBI currently fields the .40 S&W caliber for standard use.

A movement toward 9mm and from .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and  .357 Sig comes down to ballistic effectiveness and training issues, in my opinion.  The Wonder 9’s modern bullet technology and increased magazine capacity make it attractive.

And let’s face it, today’s generation of cops rarely have had a traditional firearms upbringing–especially with handguns.  Teaching and maintaining pistol skills for groups of inexperienced shooters can be expensive and institutionally frustrating with the larger, harder kicking rounds.

Over the last few years, I have gone to the range with many officers who said they had no handgun experience prior to the police academy.  While they inevitably qualify on Florida’s watered down State-Standard course of fire, many of them treat the snappy .40 cal. gun in their hands with unease.  Not a good thing.

This “pre-solicitation notice” is a kind of red alert to manufacturers that the FBI will at some point after 2015 be issuing a contract for up to $100,000,000 in the first year with up to nine more optional years to follow.  Quite a catch for a company.  Interestingly, the words “best value to the Government” are included.

Funny that in the wake of the 1986 Miami FBI shootout, the Bureau actually led us all away from smaller caliber pistol rounds (remember the much vaunted 10mm Auto?).  The Feds may not be leading this latest migration, but they will surely make a strong influence on police administrators everywhere.

Randall

Details from the FBI:

Solicitation Number:
SYNOPSIS-OSCU-DSU1501
Notice Type:
Presolicitation
Synopsis:
Added: Jul 25, 2014 11:39 am

This is a PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE of a proposed requirement for various commercial “OFF THE SHELF” semi-automatic pistols chambered to fire a 9mm Luger cartridge as defined by SAAMI. This notice is issued solely for informational and planning purposes only.

The following types of pistols, chambered to fire a 9mm Luger cartridge, may be requested for testing and evaluation purposes under a future solicitation:
Class One Pistol: barrel length between 3.75″ and 4.25″; with a minimum magazine capacity of 13 rounds.
Class Two Pistol: barrel length between 4.5″ and 5.5″; with a minimum magazine capacity of 15 rounds.
Class One Training Pistol (Red Handle): deactivated with full articulation, red receiver and slide, night sights.
Class One “Man Marking” (a.k.a., “Simunitions”) pistol: blue slide or slide with blue inserts.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation anticipates the release of a solicitation during FY2015/Q1; distributed solely through the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) Website (www.fedbizopps.gov). This notice does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) and should not be construed to as a commitment of any kind by the Government to issue a formal solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Any costs incurred by interested parties will NOT be reimbursed. It is the responsibility of any interested party to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this notice.

Agency is contemplating single award of a firm fixed price (FFP) Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract to the contractor whose submission represents best value to the Government. The anticipated maximum, not to exceed, contract threshold is $100M for a twelve month base period and nine (9) possible additional one-year options. In accordance with FAR 2.101, Multi-Agency Contracts, the solicitation will include a provision authorizing other law enforcement agencies to utilize the contract vehicle. The North American Industry Classification System code is 332994 (Small Arms, Ordnance, and Ordnance Accessories Manufacturing) with a small business size standard of 1,000 employees. Interested parties shall be registered in the System for Award Management at (www.sam.gov).

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_FBI_Miami_shootoutContracting Office Address:

935 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, District of Columbia 20535
United States
Primary Point of Contact.:
Jennifer R. Unger,
Contracting Officer
jennifer.unger@ic.fbi.gov
Phone: 540-868-4811
Fax: 540-868-1473