Heckler & Koch Defense Awarded the Largest Pistol Contract in Law Enforcement History
Heckler & Koch Defense Awarded the Largest Pistol Contract in Law Enforcement History Sterling, VA. (August 24, 2004) Heckler & Koch Defense Inc. has been awarded a multi-year contract, with a potential value up to $26.2 million by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It is intended to service all organizational elements/agencies under DHS. This contract ranks as the single largest handgun procurement ever by a U.S. law enforcement agency with a maximum quantity of 65,000 pistols. The models selected after an exhaustive and punishing battery of testing were the USP Compact LEM, the P2000 and the P2000SK subcompact. Each of the three models was chosen in calibers 9x19mm, .40 S&W, and .357 SIG, and employ HK's innovative LEM trigger system.
The U.S. Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established as the largest investigative arm in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ICE unites the functions, resources, and legal authorities of several previously separate border and security organizations into an integrated homeland security agency focused on investigations and enforcement. ICE's mission is to prevent terrorist and criminal acts by targeting the people, money, and materials that support terrorist and criminal networks.
"This award confirms a significant commitment by the HK Defense Group to produce the most technically superior firearms in the world, without sacrificing flexibility and individual preference," said Wayne Weber, HK Defense Federal Operations Manager. "The exhaustive testing protocol not only included one of the most rigorous battery of reliability, environmental, accuracy, and durability tests a handgun has ever been subjected to, but with the most powerful selection of cartridges within each of the three respective calibers. The HK pistols earned a "Superior" technical rating after more than three million rounds of ammunition were fired through 690 handguns of 46 different models from five different companies during four months of testing."
"This contract further validates our commitment to expanding our U.S. market presence and supporting federal law enforcement in their homeland security duties," said HK Defense President Peter Simon. Heckler & Koch Defense is also the prime contractor for the U.S. Army's XM8 Assault Rifle program. This is the second major pistol contract awarded to Heckler & Koch in the past 13 months, including the TSA .40 caliber Pistol contract for the Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program.
Heckler & Koch Defense is a leader in the design and manufacturing of technologically advanced firearms for military and law enforcement. It is the firm behind some of the most well known firearms of the last fifty years including the G3 rifle, MP5 submachine gun, USP pistol, and newer models such as the MP7 Personal Defense Weapon, the UMP submachine gun, and the G36 weapon system.
