Glock Inc. plans to sell the pistol it developed for the US Army's Modular Handgun System program on the commercial market, a company official told a German publisher.

In January, Sig Sauer Inc. beat out Glock, FN America, and Beretta USA--the maker of the current M9 9mm pistol--in the service's high-profile competition to replace the M9.

A soldier fires a Beretta M9 pistol. Photo from US Army.

Glock protested the decision, which was upheld by the Government Accountability Office, and shortly thereafter released photos of its entries for the program: versions of its 9mm Glock 19 and .40 caliber Glock 23 pistols.

Earlier this month, Dr. Stephan Dorler, managing director of European Security and Defense, a publication based in Bonn, Germany, interviewed Richard Flur, head of international sales for Glock GmbH, based in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria.

Glock, Inc's one-gun entry for the US Army's Modular Handgun System program. Photo from Glock, Inc.

Here's a transcript of the interview, according to a PDF posted online and previously reported by The Firearm Blog:

ESD: Will there be a version of the Glock Modular Handgun System pistol for the commercial market? Flür: Yes. We think this is a great pistol and would like to give all interested parties the opportunity to try and purchase it. All costs associated with the development of the pistol were financed by Glock, so it is also possible to market the pistol independently. Of course, we will be able to make good use of the experience gained from completing this project. Some aspects will certainly be reflected in future Glock products.

A Glock official in the US said there is no timeline yet for such a plan.