Air Force Global Strike Command has completed its inspection of Sig Sauer M18 handguns following the death of an airman last month and will resume using the highly scrutinized handgun.
The inspection and pause was put in place following 21-year-old Airman Brayden Lovan’s death from a firearm discharge involving an M18, a military variant of Sig Sauer’s P320 firearm.
Amid the inspections, Air Force officials announced earlier this month that a person had been arrested and is accused of suspicion of making a false official statement, obstruction of justice, and involuntary manslaughter.
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Military.com first confirmed that the restriction on the gun was being lifted Sunday afternoon, and the service issued a press release later in the day after being approached by the news organization. Security forces with Air Force Global Strike Command will resume using M18s that were inspected and deemed safe starting Monday, the release noted.
“It is paramount that our airmen trust their weapon systems,” Gen. Thomas Bussiere, AFGSC commander, said in the Sunday news release. “This thorough inspection ensures the M18s in our inventory are in optimal working order, providing our Defenders with safe, reliable and effective systems to accomplish their mission.”
Reports of the Sig Sauer handguns, both the military and civilian variants, allegedly firing without pulling the trigger have surfaced in recent years, though circumstances of the arrest and details about Lovan’s death have not been publicly disclosed.
Air Force Global Strike Command inspected 7,970 M18s following Lovan’s death. Overall, the “inspection process identified discrepancies with 191 weapons across the command’s M18 inventory,” the command said in its news release.
Issues identified with the handguns included component wear, as well as “problems with the safety lever, striker assembly and sear,” the news release said. Firearms with issues were tagged and are being repaired.
Air Force Global Strike Command also said in the news release that it is “implementing enhanced inspection procedures for the M18 pistol” but did not disclose what additional steps were being taken.
Additionally, a review of weapons discharges throughout Air Force Global Strike Command showed none had been attributed to malfunctions, the news release stated.
“By incorporating these added measures, we assess that any issues found with the safety lever, striker assembly and sear will be identified during semi-annual and annual inspections,” Lt. Col. George Hern, AFGSC chief of security forces, said in the news release. “As we execute M18 inspections in the future, we will be taking a particular interest in these components to ensure these methods address the issues we found and make adjustments as needed.”
A Sig Sauer representative had not provided Military.com with a comment as of Monday morning.
The gun manufacturer has defended its P320 series following Lovan’s death, saying in a public statement late last month that the handgun “is one of the safest, most advanced pistols in the world — meeting and exceeding all industry safety standards.”
Air Force Global Strike Command said in its Sunday evening statement that the “M18 is specifically designed and rigorously tested to meet stringent environmental, endurance and drop tests unique to the military.”
Related: Air Force Announces Arrest Related to Firearm Death of Airman That Prompted M18 Probe
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