That is the question posed in this video from Small Arms Solutions, below. The problem, he explains, is that we don't know because the military didn't complete the testing regimen for the M17. Sig offered such a low price that the military skipped the Phase 2 testing (testing durability and reliability in field conditions, destructive testing, etc.) and picked the Sig over the competing offering from Glock. As it was, it was discovered after the pistol had already been adopted that the M17 had a drop safety issue which required a recall and change in design--something that probably would have been discovered in the Phase 2 testing had it undergone those tests.
SmallArmsSolutions (39 min.)
Some under the table recompense perhaps?
ReplyDeleteSig has done very well in winning the major small arms contracts.
DeleteIt was said of General Motors some decades ago that the company possessed the largest R&D department in the world, composed entirely of its paying customers. I see the concept may still be alive and well in other areas of high dollar commerce.
ReplyDeleteWhich is not entirely without some compensating advantage; the individual consumer, assuming a certain degree of alertness, can profit by the R&D results, as can competing organizations.
It seems to be how software companies work.
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