Designed for the U.S. Army and carried by U.S. Navy SEALs, Texas Rangers and many other elite military and law enforcement professionals, the SIG SAUER® P226® has earned its place in the highest class of production pistols.
he P226 was designed for entry into the XM9 Service Pistol Trials, which were held by the US Army in 1984 on behalf of the US armed forces to find a replacement for the M1911A1. Only the Beretta 92F and the SIG P226 satisfactorily completed the trials. According to a GAO report, Beretta was awarded the M9 contract for the 92F due to better durability during endurance testing and a lower total package price. The P226 cost less per pistol than the 92F, but SIG's package price with magazines and spare parts was higher than Beretta's. The Navy SEALs, however, chose to adopt the P226 later after a repetition of failures with some issued Beretta M9s.
Although Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft is a Swiss company, Swiss law is highly restrictive when it comes to the export of firearms. Consequently, SIG entered into an agreement with German gun manufacturer (and eventual owner) J.P. Sauer & Sohn to facilitate an export market for their products. For the U.S. military XM9 trials, the P226 was imported by SACO. Interarms took over importing when the pistol was introduced for civilian sales. SIG-Sauer eventually founded SIGARMS, inc in the United States, to handle importation of their products. In 2000 the SIG Holding AG sold J.P. Sauer & Sohn GmbH to two German businessmen. The Brandname SIGSauer remained at the J.P. Sauer & Sohn GmbH.
