Heckler & Koch HK45

The Heckler & Koch HK45 (Heckler & Koch, .45 ACP) is a semi-automatic pistol designed by the German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch.

Overview

The HK45 was designed to meet requirements set forth in the U.S. Military Joint Combat Pistol program which had the purpose of arming the U.S. Military with a .45 ACP semi-automatic pistol instead of the 9mm M9 pistol. The Joint Combat Pistol program was suspended indefinitely in 2006, and the M9 pistol remains the standard issue handgun for the U.S. Military. Even though the Joint Combat Pistol program had ended, HK decided to make the HK45 available on the commercial market as well as to law enforcement and military groups. Heckler & Koch, along with Larry Vickers, an ex-Delta Force operator, and Ken Hackathorn led the development of the HK45 to meet Joint Combat Pistol program requirements which was canceled due to the price of re-arming the entire military.