France Orders 75,000 Glock 17 Semi-Automatic Pistols

Florence Parly, French Minister of the Armed Forces, announced on Monday that the country placed an order for nearly 75,000 Glock 17 9 mm short recoil-operated, locked-breech-automatic pistols from Austrian company Glock for an estimated €44 million.

The contract includes supply of 15,000 night-time aiming systems, 7,000 sound reduction kits and 51 million cartridges.

Glock will team up with e Czech company Sellier and Bellot for ammunition and the American company UTM for training kits.

The new pistols will replace the obsolete PA MAC 50s and PAMAS G1 in service with the French military. While the army will get 80% of the pistols, the French Air Force and Navy will get 10% and 8% of the ordered pistols, respectively.

While the deliveries have already begun, it is scheduled to be completed in 2022, Parly said.