Sounds like a big win for H&K:

https://www.thefirearmblog.com...or-new-rifle-pistol/

Also, it looks like the Japs have their own SCAR clone too.

Japan has a military?

Oh, cool!

Will the military surplus importers have a bunch of trade-in
Nambus for sale?

quote:

Originally posted by San Francisco, 1911:
Japan has a military?

Yes and no.

What they have is, by law, a "self defense force". Their postwar constitution technically prohibits the formation of a military, and bans the use of war to solve international conflicts. But their SDF performs the military functions of homeland defense, antiterrorism, and overseas peacekeeping. It is a de facto military, and a quite capable military at that.

Iceland is similar. They do not have a military, per se. But they do have a small de facto military to perform defensive, antiterror, and international peacekeeping military functions, which consists of a coast guard, an air defense system, and a crisis response ground unit.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Will the military surplus importers have a bunch of trade-in
Nambus for sale?

The JSDF will be transitioning from a Japanese-made licensed copy of the 9mm Sig P220.

Same pic I found Rogue. They do need a upgrade from that pistol. That Type 89 rifle doesn't look too bad. Its bipod is a bit over kill.

Sweet. They chose a very good pistol, one of my favorites for a number of reasons. I'd be curious to see what they did as far as testing those pistol contenders.

The VP9 beat out the Glock 17 and Beretta APX. The G17 is a known quantity, the APX is fairly new.

quote:

Originally posted by San Francisco, 1911:
Japan has a military?

JSDF

Technologically advanced but for the most part unproven in actual conventional warfare. The shadow of WW2 aggression looms heavily, both domestically and regionally, which some say severely ties the hands of the JSDF. They are often portrayed in the public eye as taking part in non-combat peacekeeping/relief roles.

Interesting that they chose the VP9 over the Glock 17. I wonder what the deciding factors were?

quote:

Originally posted by .357MagNYC:
Interesting that they chose the VP9 over the Glock 17. I wonder what the deciding factors were?

Way better sights/trigger out of the box. More ergonomic. Not saying one is better than the other, I have HK and Glocks but if I had to pick one and not alter it at all I’d probably go VP9

Unless H&K gave them a heck of a deal, I would think that the VP9 would be more expensive.

It probably helped that HK is already supplying the JSDF (namely their special forces) with some of their other small arms, including the G36, 416, 417, MP5, MP7, and USP.

This was interesting to read about the Howa Type 64 rifle!

quote:

The magazine capacity is limited to 20-rounds of 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition. A notable feature of the cartridge used in this weapon is that the powder charge is reduced by about 10%, to reduce its inherently excessive recoil and muzzle climb. It was purposely produced with a reduced powder charge to be more suitable to the Japanese physique.

Howa Type 64

Similar to what the Spanish started to do with their reduced power 7.62x51 load for their CETME rifles in the 1950s, before eventually abandoning that and just going with full power 7.62 NATO.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Will the military surplus importers have a bunch of trade-in
Nambus for sale?

The JSDF will be transitioning from a Japanese-made licensed copy of the 9mm Sig P220.

I'd say it's a damned shame none of them will make it over here, but the ones I've seen in pictures look as though they've been truly beat to hell for years.

Didn't they transition to a licensed copy of the 226 at some point?

Not that I can find, other than a special operations unit of the Japanese Navy that uses the P226R.

Before adopting the licensed P220, the JSDF used surplus M1911s and Colt Detective revolvers.

On a related note, the Glock 17 lost in Japan but won in France:

https://www.thefirearmblog.com...6-glocks-17-pistols/

quote:

Originally posted by Dawes:
On a related note, the Glock 17 lost in Japan but won in France:

https://www.thefirearmblog.com...6-glocks-17-pistols/

Interesting! Both the UK and France will wield the Glock 17's now, then. The French Press release in that article mentions the "reliability and durability" that the Glocks showed during testing.