The M11 is a US military designation of the SIG Sauer P228 pistol

The M11 is a US military designation of the SIG Sauer P228 pistol. In the early 1990s this pistol has been adopter by the US military. It was issued to Military Police, Naval Aviation, Military Criminal Investigation Command and some other units that require compact and unobtrusive handgun, smaller than a full-size M9 pistol. This weapon (SIG Sauer P228) is also popular among civil customers.

This pistol is available chambered only for 9x19 mm Parabellum ammunition. It has a short recoil system and utilizes the familiar modified Browning locked-breech design. The same locked breech operation method is present in all SIG Sauer P-series locket breech pistols.

The M11 comes with a double action or double action only trigger. This pistol has a built-in firing pin safety. There are no manual safeties. There is a decocking lever at the left side of the frame. It is worth noting that double action only version has no decocker. The M11 can be carried safely with a loaded chamber.

This compact pistol is available with a standard aluminum, or stainless steel frame. Version with aluminum frame is slightly lighter.

The M11 is fed from double-stack 13-round capacity magazines. It is also compatible with 15- or 20-round magazines of the full-size SIG Sauer P226. Magazine release button is reversible.

The M11 proved to be a durable, reliable and well-made weapon.

Recently the US military adopted a new M18 compact pistol to replace the M11. The new weapon is essentially a compact version of the SIG Sauer P320. It uses the same ammunition as the M11 pistol. However the M18 was designed as a modular multi-caliber weapon. It can be adapted for .40 S&W, .375 SIG, .380 ACP and .45 ACP ammunition. SIG Sauer offers conversion kits for this pistol. Caliber conversions are performed simply by changing barrels, slides, frames and magazines. The M18 was adopted by the US Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Coprs. Its production commenced in 2017 or 2018. Within the next 10 years it will gradually replace in US military service the M11 compact pistol.

Variants

M11-A1 is a commercial version of the M11. It has some differences from the military model, that is sold exclusively to the government. This pistol has a stainless steel slide. Unlike the M11 it has a larger grip and uses 15-round capacity magazines and has some other minor differences.