Glock (German: [ˈglɔk]; stylized as GLOCK) is a brand of polymer-framed, short-recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols (as well as some rifles and one machine pistol) designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock GmbH. The firearm, designed by company founder Gaston Glock (1929–2023), entered Austrian military and police service in 1982 as the P80 (later known commercially as the Glock 17) after outperforming established competitors in reliability and safety tests.[4][5][page needed] Despite initial market resistance due to its "plastic" construction, the Glock became the first commercially successful line of pistols with a polymer frame.[6]
The weapon uses the company's proprietary "Safe Action" system, which consists of three independent internal safety mechanisms: the trigger safety, the firing pin safety, and the drop safety. These mechanisms prevent accidental discharge without an external on-off switch.[7] The pistols are also noted for their high magazine capacity relative to their weight and their resistance to corrosion, originally achieved through a ferritic nitrocarburizing surface treatment known as Tenifer.[8]
Glock pistols have become the company's most profitable line of products. They are supplied to national armed forces, security agencies, and police forces in at least 48 countries, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the majority of police agencies in the United States.[9] The product line has evolved through six generations of design changes ("Gen 1" through "Gen 6"). It is available in a wide variety of calibers, including 9×19mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, 10mm Auto, and .45 ACP, as well as various sizes ranging from the full-sized Glock 17 to the subcompact Glock 26 and "slimline" Glock 43.
The widespread adoption of the design has made the Glock rise in popularity and a subject of gun control debates. In the 2020s, the pistols faced scrutiny regarding the proliferation of "Glock switches," illegal aftermarket auto sears that convert the firearms into machine pistols.[10] This led to lawsuits filed by the states of Minnesota and New Jersey in 2024, and legislation in California in 2025 (Assembly Bill 1127), aimed at forcing design changes to prevent such conversions.[11][12] In October 2025, Glock announced a major "right-sizing" initiative, ceasing production of over thirty variants to streamline manufacturing and introduce redesigned components to mitigate full-auto conversion.[13]
History
The company's founder and head engineer, Gaston Glock (1929–2023), had no experience in firearms design or manufacture when his first pistol, the Glock 17, was being prototyped. Glock had extensive experience in advanced synthetic polymers, which was instrumental in the company's design of the first commercially successful line of pistols with a polymer frame.[14] Glock introduced ferritic nitrocarburizing into the firearms industry as an anticorrosion surface treatment for metal gun parts.[15]
Development
In 1980, the Austrian Armed Forces announced that it would seek tenders for a new, modern duty pistol to replace their World War II–era Walther P38 handguns.[16] The Federal Ministry of Defence of Austria formulated a list of 17 criteria for the new generation service pistol, including requirements that it would be self loading; fire the NATO-standard 9×19mm Parabellum round; the magazines would not require any means of assistance for loading; not be subject to accidental discharge from shock, strike, and drop from a height of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) onto a steel plate.[16] After firing 15,000 rounds of standard ammunition, the pistol was to be inspected for wear. The pistol was to be then used to fire an overpressure test cartridge generating 5,000 bar (500 MPa; 73,000 psi).[dubious – discuss] The normal maximum operating pressure (Pmax) for the 9 mm NATO is 2,520 bar (252 MPa; 36,500 psi).[17]
Glock became aware of the Austrian Army's planned procurement, and in 1982, assembled a team of Europe's leading handgun experts from military, police, and civilian sport-shooting circles to define the most desirable characteristics in a combat pistol.[16] Within three months, Glock had developed a working prototype that combined proven mechanisms and traits from previous pistol designs.[18] In addition, the plan was to make extensive use of synthetic materials and modern manufacturing technologies, which led to the Glock 17 becoming a cost-effective candidate.
Several samples of the Glock 17 (so named corresponding to its magazine capacity[19] or because it was the 17th patent procured by the company)[20] were submitted for assessment trials in early 1982. After passing all of the exhaustive endurance and abuse tests, the Glock emerged as the winner.[21][22][23] According to Friedrich Dechant, former head of the Austrian Armaments and Defence Technology Agency, the Glock P80 was clearly superior to other handguns in terms of performance, handling, charging capacity and price.[24]