The Joint Service Small Arms Program, abbreviated JSSAP, is an office that was created in 1978 to coordinate weapon standardization between the various United States military service branches, including the army, navy, marine Corps and later the USCG and SOCOM.
History In 1962, the US Air Force adopted the Smith & Wesson Model 15 revolver over the M1911A1. By 1977 their inventory was wearing out, and the USAF requested special ammunition for the M15 to improve its effectiveness due to malfunctions it suffered.
A subsequent Congressional investigation revealed that the USAF had 25 different handguns in inventory. Congressman Addabbo from New York said, "The current proliferation of handguns and handgun ammunition in Air Force inventory is intolerable." Congress encouraged DOD to select a standard handgun and phase out all others.
This task was assigned to the newly created Joint Service Small Arms Program (JSSAP).
The United States Military forces had been using a variety of different small arms which grew over the years to about ten different types of handguns. Models in use included the M1911A1 (Colt .45 Automatic), Smith & Wesson (Combat Masterpiece in .38 Special caliber), Smith and Wesson Model 1917 (.45 ACP and .45 Auto Rim) and various other small arms. By the 1970s it became obvious that the M1911A1 (Colt Government .45ACP) model was going to have to be replaced.Subcommittee on Investigations (1981). In July 1981, there were 412,339 .45 caliber pistols and 127,745 .38 caliber revolvers in the inventories of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. The last procurement of the .45 caliber pistol occurred in 1945. Since that time the existing inventory has been maintained by rebuilding and reconditioning the worn weapons. Department of Defense witnesses testified that $1.5 million is currently budgeted for the procurement of replacement components for those handguns. They also testified "field reports indicate that it is reaching the end of its maintainable life." After urging of House Committee on Appropriations, the Department of Defense, in 1978, initiated two studies to investigate the benefits of standardizing ammunition and handguns of the military departments.
The program to purchase the new standardized handgun was designated the XM9 program. There were 85 criteria for handgun characteristics that must be met to satisfy the procurement requirements.
XM9 requirements Of the 85 requirements for the new handgun, 72 were mandatory, and 13 were optional.XM9/XM10 Trials Basic Requirements: Chambered in 9mm NATO caliber Detachable magazine with capacity of at least 13 rounds Magazine catch which ejects magazine without the use of the second hand First round trigger pull to be double action, followups single action Slide stop that locks slide open when the magazine is empty Durability of 5000 rounds with no more than 8 malfunctions
Safety System: Thumb-safety system ambidextrous De-cocking device to safely lower a cocked hammer Firing pin block when the hammer is lowered
The Air Force invited several makers to compete in this testing program.
JOINT SERVICE SMALL ARMS SYNCHRONIZATION TEAM (JSSAST)
Key Responsibilities:
Review and approve annual updates to Joint Service Small Arms capability gaps. Evaluate and endorse the annual JSSAP Science & Technology project portfolio. Identifiy opportunities for potential joint programs across services. Develop and maintain a unified Joint Service Small Arms Master Plan (JSSAMP), aligning and integrating the individual strategies of each service within the DoD.
The tests A whole series of tests arranged by the Air Force included accuracy, environmental testing, and an endurance trial in which Mean Rounds Between Stoppages (MRBS) was tallied. Tests included exposure to high levels of dust, mud, extreme heat and cold, as well as human factors testing.
Human factors testing included the ability of shooters to fire accurately. There were three levels of shooters who fired these guns for accuracy.
First tests - USAF Eglin AFB Florida The XM9 program name had not yet been assigned when these tests took place. The first round of these handgun tests occurred in 1979-1980 at Eglin Air Force Base in Northwestern Florida.Army R, D & A. Volume 22, Number 1; "JSSAP management committee[...] coordinated their service inputs. This study was two principal parts, the first being the on-going Air Force Evaluation of handguns which was being conducted at Elgin Air Force Base, FL, in which various model 9mm pistols were evaluated against the M1911A1's and M15 .38 cal revolvers. The second part of the study considered a review of compilation of all existing historical reports and studies relative to pistols, hand-guns and their performance."
The eight pistols that were entered for the 1979-1980 trials were:Army R, D & A. Volume 22, Number 1 : Beretta entered their Beretta 92S-1 (later renamed 92SB), which would be considered the best entry of the 1979-1980 trials. In the 1984 trials, Beretta would submit 92S-1's successor, the 92SB-F (later renamed to 92F), which would be chosen and adopted as the M9 pistol in January 1985. : FN Herstal submitted two entries, the FN Browning M1935 High Power and the FN Browning Fast Action, a special double-action version of the M1935 High Power. : Colt's Manufacturing Company of the United States submitted the Colt SSP (stainless steel pistol), a 9×19mm Parabellum variant of the Colt Model 1971, which was an earlier attempt to develop a new service pistol to replace the M1911, with some minor mechanical alterations made for the trials. Colt submitted 30 new SSPs out of a production run of around 50, but their pistol was not selected. One example is on display at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. : Heckler & Koch submitted two pistols, the Heckler & Koch P9S and the Heckler & Koch VP70. The former carried the smallest magazine of all the pistols tested, while the VP70 boasted the highest capacity magazine. : Smith & Wesson of the United States submitted their Smith & Wesson 459A. : Star Bonifacio Echevveria S.A. submitted their Star Model 28.
The existing standard M1911A1 and the Smith & Wesson M15 .38 Special handguns were also tested to compare to those which were submitted for comparison.
Results of the first tests Six of the submitted firearms passed the test. The Beretta 92S-1 performed the best overall and was announced as the clear winner, having exceeded the stated goals in several cases.Legislation and National Security Subcommittee (1986); Page 4. Interest in the 9-mm handgun started in 1978 with informal Air Force testing of 9-mm pistols.[...] DOD concluded 2 years later that handgun standardization using 9-mm ammunition was feasible. At first, DOD planned to rely on the results of Air Force testing, which concluded that Beretta [92S-1] was by far the superior weapon tested. The Army, however, opposed awarding a sole-source contract to Beretta on grounds that the Air Force testing was not scientific. Since 1980, the Army has conducted two additional extensive rounds of testing the 9-mm pistol.
P9S easily won the accuracy phase of testing but fell into disfavor when its operating controls failed to adapt themselves to left-handed use. The magazine capacity (nine rounds) was one short of the desired (later required) capacity.
The Heckler & Koch VP70, with its then unusual trigger mechanism (a three round burst selection was available when the supplied stock was attached), allowed only double action firing and failed the hand-held accuracy portion of the tests. As for the endurance tests, the four P9S specimens fired a total of 18,697 rounds with 360 stoppages, producing an MRBS number of 52 (18,697/360).
The VP70 performed far worse, firing a mere 771 rounds with 137 stoppages for an MRBS of only 5. In fairness to the VP70, the ammunition used for these tests was extremely suspect. None of it approached the "hot" power ratings of the European 9mm ammunition for which Heckler & Koch—and indeed all European manufacturers—had designed their guns.
The Star Model 28, which typically has a consistent service record, experienced performance issues with low-powered cartridges. It recorded the same Mean Rounds Between Stoppages (MRBS) rate as the Heckler & Koch VP70.
Accuracy testing showed that the Air Force had been correct in their selection of the S&W M15 over the M1911A1. The shooters of the M15 performed better in accuracy than those with the M1911A1 .45 pistol. The new submission of 9mm handguns was the most accurate group. Very importantly, the 9mm accuracy was even greater over that of the M15 and M1911A1 with the least experienced shooters than it was with experienced shooters.
In durability testing the M1911A1 was experiencing 1 failure for every 748 rounds fired. The Smith & Wesson 459A was performing at 1,952 and the Beretta at 2,000. This caused controversy since the new M1911A1 pistol had achieved 6000 rounds previously. The Air Force was testing guns from existing inventory. Some observers of the test record believe that defective magazines were the reason for the M1911A1's poor performance.
The US Army used the fact that the Air Force did not replace the magazines which caused poor M1911A1 performance was cited as a reason to invalidate all test results. The Army did not like the Air Force's sand, mud, and extreme temperature testing. The Army conducts their tests of this type with rigorous accuracy recording. The Army rejected the results of the Air Force Testing.
The JSSAP program managers agree to have the test run again only in the next tests they would be conducted by the Army.
New requirements were created and the new handgun to be procured would now be called the XM9 (prototype, will be type accepted as the M9).Markham, George. Guns Of The Elite: Special Forces Firearms, 1940 To The Present. London: Arms and Armour, 1987. Print. P.58,62
Second tests from 1981
Results of the second tests
In February 1982 issued this statement; "The Army, in its role as Defense Department executive agent for 9mm handgun procurement, has cancelled the procurement. It was not possible to make an award because the submitted weapon samples substantially failed to meet the essential requirements contained in the procurement solicitation. The Department of Defense intends to reexamine its requirements for a new handgun."
This cause a firestorm of protest. Supporters in the military and Congress denounced the Army tests as rigged and a fiasco. The last line in particular was interpreted as allowing the purchase of the M1911A1 models in 9mm or .45 ACP. Colt exacerbated this thought when they subsequently offer an unsolicited proposal to convert existing M1911A1 handguns to 9mm.
The Army's response was that all the contenders had failed in areas of reliable operations in low temperature, sand and mud. No data to support this was provided. This denial was justified that since a new competition might be held that data might be competition sensitive. (Note: Why? Having this data would simply allow the competitors to see where they needed to improve)
An unsupported rumor was that the adverse dirty conditions test required 1000 rounds without failure although 800 would be acceptable. A claim was made that none of the firearms achieved even 600 rounds.
As a result of this there were threats of lawsuits by the makers who felt defamed and worse a Congressional investigation.
Third tests from 1983-1984 By November 1983, a new program was started, now under the XM9 name.Thompson (2011), Chapter: "Army Takes Charge" These later trials did not have all of the same pistols competing, as some had dropped out, and some were added to the competition.