Air Force Releases Results from Inspections of M18 Pistols

The Air Force has ruled the M18 service pistol is “safe and reliable” after inspecting more than 100,000 of the service’s 9mm pistols, according to a Sept. 2 announcement. Leaders ordered a force-wide inspection after a July 20, 2025, discharge of an M18 killed an on-duty security forces Airman at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.

The death of 21-year-old Airman Brayden Lovan was originally believed to be “a result of an accidental discharge” and fueled safety concerns about the M18—a Sig-Sauer pistol based on its P320 striker-fired weapon. Multiple lawsuits filed against Sig Sauer, mostly by law enforcement officers, have alleged that P320 pistols can discharge unintentionally.

The concerns prompted Air Force Global Strike Command to launch its own investigation and temporarily bar troops from using the M18. The Air Force ordered a service-wide inspection of its “in-use” M18s soon after. Global Strike Command cleared the pistol to return to use in late August 2025 after its own inspections.

More than a year later, the Air Force announced the results of its inspections—though the actual inspection report is dated Jan. 23. As of that date, the service has inspected 113,479 of its 117,864 “in-use” M18s. In total, the service has 125,917 M18s in its inventory—8,053 remain not in use at a depot in Alabama, the report states.

Of the 113,479 M18s inspected, 111,893, or 98.6 percent, were deemed “satisfactory,” the report states. The other 1,586, or 1.4 percent, of the M18s had parts that were “lightly pitted” or required adjustment. Those pistols were categorized as “other than satisfactory,” the report states.

“Some weapons displayed normal wear and tear commensurate with their usage schedule and high rates of manual functioning for skill building during classroom training and daily arming,” the report states. The Air Force “has or will return 1,586 identified during this inspection … with normal wear to ‘serviceable’ condition through standard maintenance procedures.”

The remaining 4,385 “in-use” M18s left to be inspected are “sealed” in extended storage, the report states, adding that commands that own the pistols will be required to complete the inspections.

“Subject matter experts have a high degree of confidence that these final inspections will yield similar findings as the rest of the inventory,” the report states.

Overall, “100 percent of the inspected weapons exhibited no signs of any condition that could have allowed the weapons to experience an ‘uncommanded discharge,’” according to the report.

After an initial investigation into Lovan’s July 20 shooting, criminal investigators learned that Airman 1st Class Marcus White-Allen had concocted a story with two other Airmen to cover up that he fired his M18 pistol into Lovan’s chest.

Laboratory tests have “determined there were no defects in White-Allen’s duty-issued weapon,” according to the Air Force statement. “Evidence determined White-Allen had his finger on the trigger as he placed the firearm on Lovan’s chest.”

Authorities arrested White-Allen in early August and charged him with involuntary manslaughter, obstruction of justice, and making a false official statement. On Oct. 8, he was found dead in his dormitory, according to the Air Force. Details surrounding White-Allen’s death remain unclear.

Airman 1st Class Sarbjot Badesha and Airmen 1st Class Matthew Rodriguez pleaded guilty to making false statements about the shooting during summary courts martial proceedings on Oct. 30-31, the Air Force said Oct. 31 in a statement. Authorities sentenced Badesha to 30 days in confinement, reduced his rank to E-1 and fined him $1,545. Rodriguez was sentenced to 10 days confinement and 15 days restriction to base. He was also reduced in rank to E-2 and fined $500, according to the statement.