A military contract is a valuable win for a firearms manufacturer. Aside from receiving taxpayer dollars, a company can market its product as the military’s choice, with the implication that it’s the best on the market.
Those who understand military contracting know this isn’t necessarily the case.
Even when testing is conducted in its entirety, the selection of a weapon by any military still comes down to the lowest bidder and is reflective of the specific needs of the force.
Also Read: This is the Special Operations Command’s new $92 million rifle
For example, the U.S. military tested the SIG Sauer P226 and the Beretta 92 during the XM9 Service Pistol Trials in 1984. Both passed the exhaustive trials, but the Beretta won out due to its lower overall price tag. While the Beretta went on to serve as the M9 with the regular military, the SIG was famously fielded by the Navy SEALs as the Mk25.
In 2017, SIG Sauer struck back in the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System competition with its P320, beating out Glock’s submission. Confident in their product, Glock released their MHS pistol as the 19X to the civilian market, where it has become a favorite of shooters and collectors.
Looking across the pond, the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) conducted a trial for a new special operations rifle to be fielded by the Royal Marines and the British Army Ranger Regiment. In September 2023, the Knights Armament KS-1 was adopted as the L403A1-AIW under Project Hunter.
While nobody in the firearms space will say that Knights is anything but top-tier (especially given its Gucci price), the other Project Hunter offerings sparked the interest of the firearms community. Luckily, Daniel Defense is bringing its rifle to the market.
Designated the DD4 X1, the Hunter rifle will follow the extremely popular DD4 V7 and RIII (3) rifles. However, it incorporates technology from the larger DD5 rifle, like Daniel Defense’s bolt-up system, which improves rigidity. The bolt carrier also features a diamond-like coating (DLC) borrowed from the DD5. Designed to run suppressed, the internal-piston gas system will send carbon debris back onto the bolt and carrier, where the DLC will help repel it.
The other issue with shooting suppressed is heat. In a military context, a hot suppressor glows like a forbidden popsicle when observed through night vision or thermal devices. To reduce the X1’s thermal signature, Daniel Defense added carbon fiber heat shields around the barrel. The entire rifle is also coated in an IR-defeating Cerakote to reduce visibility under night vision.
SIG Sauer pitched its MCX Spear-LT for Project Hunter. While the base rifle is available on the market, SIG confirmed that the Hunter submission was a custom configuration from the defense side of the company.
The Knights KS-1 base rifle is similarly available on the market. H&K submitted their HK416A5, but their MR556 A4 is the closest option on the market. As displayed at SHOT Show 2026, the DD4 X1 looks to be the closest that the market will get to a Project Hunter rifle.
Although Daniel Defense had completed the rifle, the company indicated it would still take time before the X1 is released to market. Their schedule at the time of SHOT Show put a release in Q3 of 2026. However, pitched as a huge improvement over the already proven V7 and RIII rifles, the X1 might be worth the wait. Prices are expected to be around $3,000.
