A gun is only as good as its ammo. Since the Army is replacing its M9 handgun with the XM17 Modular Handgun System, it is also in the market for new ammunition.

Army officials confirmed that it was looking for new ammunition at an industry day for 20 interested vendors in Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. Richard Jackson, the special assistant to the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General for Law of War, explained to participants that the military uses expanding and fragmenting ammunition instead of the full metal jacket. With the right ammo, soldiers can use the XM17 to its full potential.

“Expanding the XM17 Modular Handgun competition to include special-purpose ammunition will provide the warfighter with a more accurate and lethal handgun,” Jackson said.

The Army plans to purchase 280,000 new handguns from a single vendor by 2018.