US Air Force reviews M18 pistol safety after nuclear arsenal guard’s death
USA, July 31, 2025 (photo: US Army, Mark Scott) – The M18 pistol is a compact version of the M17 pistol, the service version of the Swiss SIG Sauer P320 pistol, which, since it is allowed, is also sold in many countries for over 1000 Euros. It has been widely adopted by the US military. The M17 and M18 models were adopted by the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force after 2017 and replaced the Beretta M9, as well as several other handguns in five of the six branches of the armed forces. The P320 pistol is also widely used by law enforcement agencies in the US.
Video of an accidental discharge of a P320 at a police station:
Off-duty incident where a police officer shot himself in the crotch:
The US military originally planned to procure a total of 421,000 weapons, of which 195,000 for the Army (US Army – ground forces), 130,000 for the Air Force (USAF, meanwhile, on December 20, 2019, the US Space Force was also created), 61,000 for the Navy (US Navy – only the compact version of the M18) and 35,000 for the Marine Corps (USMC). The Coast Guard (USCG) was the only military branch that did not receive the M17 and M18. It will replace its SIG Sauer P229R DAK with the Glock 19 Gen5 MOS model.
On July 20, 2025, at approximately 1:30 a.m., a USAF member was killed by an apparently unintentional M18 shot at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base. The first known report of the incident did not reach the public until about July 23, 2025. As it turned out, 21-year-old Airman (USAF member) Brayden Tyriq Lovan died in the line of duty. He joined the Air Force in November 2023 and served with the 90th Security Forces Wing. His job description was described as a “remote targeting engagement system operator,” which literally means a remote targeting system operator. In practice, he manned security towers overlooking strategic ballistic missile silos with nuclear warheads at Warren base, which falls under the command of the Air Force Global Strike Command.
The command has about 406 intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads LGM-30G Minuteman III in its arsenal. It also operates 178 aircraft, including strategic bombers B-52H Stratofortress, B-1B Lancer, as well as B-2A Spirit, which recently participated in the bombing of Yemen and Operation Midnight Hammer – the US strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. It also has in its arsenal E-4B aircraft nicknamed the “Doomsday plane”. It is practically a flying strategic command post on the Boeing 747 platform in case of nuclear war or other global crisis. In addition, UH-1N and MH-139 utility helicopters and its own T-38C training aircraft. The command is trying to turn itself into a priority in the field of financing of the components of the US armed forces and grow significantly after the introduction of new strategic bombers B-21 Raider. Any problems are not welcome and the USAF Global Strike Command has issued an order to suspend the use of the M18 until further notice. It is now necessary to carry an assault rifle/carbine of 5.56×45 mm caliber everywhere.
The USAF said that it had not yet determined the nature of the shooting and described it as an isolated incident that did not pose a threat to the base or the community. At the same time, the joint magazine of the US and Air Force published a statement from Muhlenberg County High School in Greenville, Kentucky, where Lovan graduated in 2022. It stated that he was a member of the football (American football), basketball and track teams. It described the 2022 graduate as an “outstanding” who brought “great talent and skill to the school’s athletic program.” It noted that Lovan currently enjoyed riding ATVs and other outdoor activities with friends. This is apparently ruling out the possibility that someone with an overly benevolent attitude towards handling weapons or psychological problems could be involved in guarding nuclear ballistic missiles. The commander of the unit that guards the 90th Missile Wing with Minuteman III nuclear missiles expressed condolences to the family and team of colleagues.
A month before the incident, a report about P320 accidental discharge incidents was published. In the video, the lawyer claims to represent over 100 victims of accidental discharge incidents.
What is even an uninformed person to make of the initial template used by SIG Sauer in response? “The manual safety—when engaged—is designed to mechanically prevent the firearm from firing when the trigger is pulled, whether intentionally or unintentionally,” the company said. “The trigger can be pulled unintentionally even under normal handling conditions.”
“The manual safety is designed to supplement, not replace, safe firearm handling practices,” SIG Sauer added. “You must ensure that you do not touch the trigger under any circumstances except when you intend to fire the pistol, especially if you choose to carry the pistol with a round in the chamber. If there is a round in the chamber and the trigger is pulled rearward, the pistol will fire unless the manual safety is engaged.”
For people who have already bought a gun, it will be good to stick to at least these recommendations. All the more so if it turns out that this was not an isolated incident. He tried to convince the American defense portal Defense News of this.
He recalled that the M18 pistol is one of two versions of the Sig Sauer P320 pistol – M18 and M17 – which since 2017 has been adopted as a standard weapon by almost all branches of the US military. Over the years, the P320 has been the subject of numerous allegations of unintentional injuries caused by accidental shots and alleged design defects – allegations that Sig Sauer strongly denies.
“The P320 CANNOT fire under any circumstances without pulling the trigger – that is a fact. The allegations against the P320 are nothing more than an attempt by individuals to profit or avoid personal responsibility,” Sig Sauer said in a statement on March 7.
However, the P320 has led to numerous lawsuits and has been removed from service by several law enforcement agencies and police departments, including the Dallas Police Department, Milwaukee Police Department, and Philadelphia Transit Police.
The Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, responsible for training law enforcement officers across the state, has gone so far as to ban the P320 from its facilities.
Most recently, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has decided to phase out the Sig Sauer P320 in favor of quickly replacing it with the GLOCK 19 MOS. An ICE memo dated July 9th states that “all SIG Sauer P320 models” are now unavailable to ICE agents. It has called for the purchase of replacement weapons “as soon as possible.” Even if we limit ourselves to the findings of Defense News, there is a reputational risk for the P320. However, it should be added that huge problems also concern the M7 assault rifle in 6.8×51 mm caliber recently included in the US Army’s armament. This is a version of the SIG Sauer MCX-SPEAR rifle. There are practically scientific works on this and it will not be easy to process such a simple article later.
Some videos about the incident at the Warren base have gained tens of thousands to three quarters of a million views on YouTube in a few days. They also present a version of the incident according to which Lovan should have put the gun in the holster on the table when it fired into his chest. They also speculate about the cause of the shot based on the Michigan State Police technical report and serious personal experiences and recall the lawsuits that the American branch is conducting regarding the P320. Many blogs have also become involved, which apparently were not initially biased towards the weapon.
Lovano’s uncle also thanked the author for the first video in the first comment:
Moreover, the popular anger and lobbying of domestic arms manufacturers in America against President Trump should not be underestimated. If he once decides that this is a presidential issue, not only the end of tenders but also throwing all the weapons into one bag and sending them back to Ukraine by ship cannot be ruled out. There, no one will probably worry too much about any unwanted shots or malfunctions. The only question is whether there will still be anyone to distribute the weapons to and whether they will all end up on the front line. Of course, hypothetically this is only possible if the EU member states paid the original price for the weapons and also contributed to their exchange for some pan-American solution. That should not be a problem.
Peter North
