Air Force Capt. Tyler Moore fires a M18 pistol during training at a small-arms course at Altus Air Force Base, Okla., on May 22, 2025. (U.S. Air Force)
The top general for the Air Force Global Strike Command ordered a pause on using the M18 pistol after a fatal incident at a Wyoming Air Force base raised questions about the weapon’s safety.
Gen. Thomas Bussiere ordered the halt Monday, one day after an airman at F.E. Warren Air Force Base was shot with an M18 and died, according to Air Force officials. The airman, who was an active-duty member of the 90th Security Forces Squadron, 90th Missile Wing, had not been named as of Wednesday.
The incident spurred multiple investigations into the death and into the safety of the M18 pistol, a spokesman for Air Force Global Strike Command said.
“Out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the safety and security of our personnel, the pause will remain in place pending the completion of comprehensive investigations by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the [Global Safety Command] Safety office,” said Charles “Moose” Hoffman, the command’s spokesman. “During this period, security forces airmen will be equipped with the M4 rifle, ensuring no lapse in AFGSC’s security posture.”
The M18 is a compact semi-automatic 9mm pistol manufactured by Sig Sauer for the military and is based on its commercially available striker-fired P320 pistol models. The M18 and its full-size version the M17, which is also part of the P320 family, have been adopted by all the Pentagon’s military services since Sig won a 2017 competition to build the Army’s new modular pistols.
The M17 and M18 replaced the decades-old M9 pistol, which was manufactured by Beretta.
Sig’s P320 models have been plagued in recent years with reports of so-called “uncommanded discharges,” in which the pistol fires a round without its trigger being squeezed. The model has been banned by some law enforcement agencies and at some gun ranges over concerns about its safety. The Department of Homeland Security this month barred Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents from carrying P320 models on duty over safety concerns. The Chicago Police Department last month banned its officers from using P320s.
Hoffman said Wednesday that it was not yet clear whether the F.E. Warren airman’s death was the result of an uncommanded discharge, a negligent discharge — in which a firearm’s operator accidentally fires the weapon — or a criminal act.
“While the investigations are underway, AFGSC is collaborating with the Air Force Security Forces Center and Headquarters Air Force Security Forces to conduct a thorough review of the M18 and develop appropriate corrective measures,” he said. “Furthermore, security forces combat arms airmen at all AFGSC bases will conduct 100% inspections of the M18 handguns to identify any immediate safety concerns.”
Combat-arms students learn how to properly handle M18 pistols at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., on July 3, 2025. (U.S. Air Force)
Sig Sauer has faced more than one dozen lawsuits in the past decade over P320 safety issues. Some of those lawsuits charge law enforcement officers and civilians were injured by uncommanded discharges by a P320, including some that were holstered. The manufacturer has long insisted the P320 is safe and cannot fire without its trigger being pulled.
On a website that Sig Sauer built amid the controversies around the pistol, P320truth.com, the company blames “uninformed, agenda-driven parties” for spreading “misinformation” about the firearm. The P320 “meets and exceeds” safety standards, according to Sig.
“The P320 cannot, under any circumstances, discharge without a trigger pull,” according to P320truth.com. “This is verified through extensive testing by Sig Sauer, the U.S. military, elite law enforcement agencies, and independent laboratories.”
Sig Sauer officials did not respond to a request for comment on the Global Strike Command pause.
Global Strike Command is one of the Air Force’s largest commands with some 34,000 troops under its umbrella who operate strategic weapons and aircraft including the nation’s Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, its B-2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortress nuclear-capable bombers and its conventional B-1B Lancer Bombers. Bussiere has led the command, which is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, since December 2022.
In a memorandum announcing the hold on the M18, Bussiere wrote the pistol would not return to use in the command until the completion of the “comprehensive review” and the development of “appropriate corrective measures” or when the pistol’s “safety measures are confirmed.”
