ORD PABAC2-007-24 Pistol 9mm Acquisition of the Philippine Army

 A requirement for new 9mm pistols was raised by the Philippine Army to meet its current, and potentially near-future requirements to equip recently recruited and future military personnel.

This resource page discusses the Pistol, 9mm Acquisition Project of the Philippine Army, specifically the project raised in 2023 but funded by allocations for 2024.

The Glock 17 Gen 4 9mm pistol. Photo credits to Guns and Ammo Magazine.

Project Summary:

ORD PABAC2-007-24 Pistol, 9mmAcquisition Project (2023) of the Philippine Army:

Note: Edited as of 15 October 2023.

* End User: Philippine Army (multiple units)

* Quantity: 5,102 units

* Modernization Phase: GAA 2024 Funding for the Philippine Army

* Project ABC: Php249,998.000.00

* Acquisition Mode: Public Bidding

* Source of Funding: GAA 2024 Funds for the Philippine Army

* SARO Release: TBC

* Winning Proponent: TBA

* Product for Delivery: TBC

* Contract Price: TBC

* Residual Difference (Savings): TBC

* First post by MaxDefense: 15 October 2023 (this post)

* MaxDefense Searching Hashtag: #PAPistol9mm2023Acquisition

* Status: Requirement for 5,102 new 9mm Pistols, to be delivered in 1 batch within 180 days from release of Notice to Proceed. Bidding was raised on 10 October 2023 with SOBE tentatively scheduled on 24 October 2023. PROJECT CANCELLED as of15 November 2023 for still unknown reasons.


Overview:

The Philippine Army has raised a requirement for 5,102 new 9mm pistols to be distributed to officers and men. We believe that these are to be allocated to a new unit, possibly the two new Brigade Combat Teams planned for establishment in 2024-2025 based on the number of firearms being acquired.

According to the tender documents, the delivery will be done in a single batch within 90 days from release of Notice to Proceed (NTP). If the first bidding attempt succeeds, we estimate that the pistols will all be delivered by 3rd quarter of 2024.

The technical requirements have been released with the following details:

Screenshot from Philippine Army Bid Documents.

Note that the specifications are slightly different from the one used by the General Headquarters Armed Forces of the Philippines for their separate 9mm Striker Fired Pistol Acquisition Project, and the budget allocated is Php500 less for each pistol.

Both AFP and PA requirements are looking for a 9mm pistol but the AFP pistol requires an aluminium or carbon steel lower receiver which is disadvantageous for Glock which uses polymer frames.

The Rock Island Armory TAC Ultra 45-cal pistol (top) and the Glock 17 Gen 4 9mm pistol (above), both with the AFP logo to show ownership by the AFP over these pistols. Photo credits to PTV4 News and AFP Reserve Command.

The participation of Glock in 9mm pistol competitions within the AFP is important since their Glock 17 Gen 4 is currently the standard and most widely-used 9mm pistol in the entire AFP including the Philippine Army.

The current specs of the Philippine Army's 9mm Pistol competition allows for a polymer lower receiver thus Glock is still expected to participate and has a strong chance of winning the competition.

Back in the 2017 tender for the AFP's Pistol 9mm Striker Fired Acquisition Project Trust Trade was the partner of Glock Asia Pacific and competed against CZ USA, Intrade Asia Pacific (local supplier of SIG Sauer), Precision Munitions (local supplier, unknown offer). There is a possibility that the same would happen, and probably other suppliers might also submit their bids and take interest in the project.

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U P D A T E S:
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16 December 2023:

The PhilGEPS procurement website has posted that the ORD PABAC2-007-24 Pistol 9mm Acquisition Project of the Philippine Army has been CANCELLED for still unknown reasons.

It has not posted any new tender documents or Supplemental Bid Bulletins to explain what happened.

We'll be keeping an eye on this project, or if it would be resurfaced by early 2024 either using the same tender project number or a different one.

Surprisingly, other projects that were pursued together with this one, including the 5.56mm Assault Rifles and Red Dot Sights, proceeded as scheduled.

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First edit and release: 15 October 2023
Copyright MaxDefense Philippines / Philippine Defense Resource.