The U.S. Army has finally relented and gave its blessing to purchase the Magpul PMAG as other brances in the U.S. Military have started using the polymer magazine from Magpul. The U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command has authorized the purchase of these magazines using unit funds by their unit commanders.

In tests, the Magpul PMAG Gen M3 outperformed the U.S. Army’s own Enhanced Performance Magazine (EPM) in 2015 as reported by Military.com but has been said to have ignored the results of its own tests to stick with the EPM. While the new development is very positive for Magpul, the Army says the EPM will still be the primary magazines for the standard weapons in use such as the M16 and M4 rifles.

In a listing at FedBizOpps, the U.S. is soliciting bids for the PMAG Gen M3:

The MICC End User requires the following items, Brand Name or Equal, to the following:

LI 001: M4 Magazine. Color preference is coyote tan, but gray/black is also considered. Fits 30 rounds of 5.56x45 ammunition. Transparent window on side to see the ammunition level. Strong and durable springs. Light polymer material. Warranty for defective items. Include shipping. PMAG 30 AR/M4 GEN M3 Window or equal., 12600, EA;

That sounds like a lot of magazines for the U.S. Army. But please do remember that the U.S. Army is a big organization with a lot of units. For this purchase, it can be around 3 battalions that can be supplied with the Gen M3. This is believed to be an initial purchase, and there will be more purchases in the future. There is no mention yet on the units that will first receive these magazines.

The U.S. Army is now the biggest branch to use the PMAG GEN M3 after the U.S. Marines and the U.S. Air Force authorized the purchase of the magazine.