CZ P13: German Bundeswehr Selects the CZ P-10 C as Its New Service Pistol

CZ secured the contract to arm the German Bundeswehr with a new service pistol after prevailing in an open international tender that drew bids from manufacturers across the global defense industry. The pistol carries the Bundeswehr designation P13, following Germany's naming convention for standard-issue sidearms. This selection places CZ alongside a short list of manufacturers trusted to equip one of NATO's largest standing armies.

The tender comes as Germany accelerates defense modernization following its 2022 commitment to a 100-billion-euro special fund for the Bundeswehr. The P13 replaces legacy sidearms as part of a broader small arms refresh. That CZ, a Czech manufacturer, won over established German and Western European competitors speaks directly to the performance record of the P-10 platform in military and law enforcement service globally.

CZ CEO Jan Zajic stated: “We are honored that the German Bundeswehr has chosen CZ as its partner. Our success in this rearmament tender is one of the most significant achievements in CZ's modern history. It clearly confirms the outstanding reputation our firearms have earned through active deployment in real combat conditions. We look forward to a long-term cooperation with the Bundeswehr and to fulfilling all its requirements in line with the contract.” In-country logistics and distribution will run through POL-TEC GmbH & Co., CZ's German partner, ensuring local support infrastructure for fielding.

The P13 is built on the CZ P-10 C OR: a compact, striker-fired 9mm pistol that shares the general size class of the Glock 19 but diverges in ergonomics and trigger design. The “OR” designation means the slide ships with a factory-milled optics-ready cut, allowing direct mounting of miniature red dot sights without aftermarket modification. For a military sidearm in 2026, this is a baseline requirement as armed forces worldwide transition to optics-equipped handguns.

In Flat Dark Earth finish, the Bundeswehr variant signals a purpose-built military configuration rather than a repackaged commercial pistol. The P-10 C OR runs a standard 15+1 capacity in 9x19mm, weighs approximately 28.8 ounces loaded, and uses a swappable backstrap system accommodating a wide range of hand sizes without armorer-level disassembly. The trigger is one of the P-10's strongest differentiators: a short-reset, flat-faced design that consistently earns favorable comparisons to aftermarket units installed on competing platforms.

Where the P-10 C OR separates itself from competitors like the HK VP9 and SIG P320 in a military evaluation is the combination of proven reliability, competitive pricing, and a design that requires minimal armorer training. The CZ platform has no external manual safety to complicate draw-stroke training (though safety variants exist), runs reliably across wide temperature and environmental ranges, and field-strips without tools. These are the attributes that win military tenders, where total cost of ownership and logistical simplicity matter as much as raw performance. For more on how the P-10 C stacks up against other service pistols, see our Best 9mm Pistols guide.

CZ has manufactured firearms since 1936, and its products are currently deployed by military and law enforcement agencies in roughly 100 countries. The CZ 75 platform became one of the most widely copied pistol designs in history, and its successors, including the P-07, P-09, and now the P-10 series, have steadily expanded CZ's footprint in professional-use markets.

Since becoming part of Colt CZ Group SE, the company operates with the combined engineering depth and manufacturing capacity of two legacy firearms brands. Colt CZ Group consolidates production and R&D across facilities in the Czech Republic, the United States, and Canada, giving CZ the industrial scale to fulfill large-volume military contracts with consistent quality. The Bundeswehr deal reflects the kind of contract the company's corporate structure was reorganized to pursue.

The P-10 series has accumulated a growing list of military and police adoptions since its introduction. Multiple NATO-aligned countries and their law enforcement agencies already field P-10 variants, which means the Bundeswehr is not adopting an unproven design. The pistol's service record in real operational environments, as Zajic referenced, was clearly a factor in Germany's evaluation. Armies adopt pistols that other professionals have already trusted operationally, not just spec sheets.

Military adoption by a major NATO army drives tangible downstream effects for civilian shooters. When a platform earns a Bundeswehr designation, aftermarket manufacturers take notice. Holster makers, sight manufacturers, and accessory companies prioritize compatibility with military-adopted platforms because professional procurement creates sustained, high-volume demand. CZ P-10 C owners can expect an expanding ecosystem of purpose-built accessories as the P13 contract enters production. The CZ P-10 C is already well-supported; this contract accelerates that trajectory.

The Bundeswehr selection validates the P-10 C OR as a serious contender in a market segment long dominated by Glock and SIG Sauer. Military procurement processes stress-test reliability, accuracy, ergonomics, maintenance burden, and total lifecycle cost in ways that commercial reviews cannot replicate. Germany ran that process against the best the industry offered, and CZ won. For shooters evaluating compact, optics-ready 9mm pistols in 2026, that result is a meaningful data point. Explore the full range of service pistols in our catalog or see how the HK VP9 family compares in our HK VP9A1-X Tactical coverage.

The Bundeswehr P13 contract is the most significant military pistol win for CZ since the company's founding. Beating a global field in an open NATO-member tender confirms what P-10 C owners already know: this platform competes at the highest level. The optics-ready, FDE-configured P13 also signals that Germany is fully committed to the modern service pistol standard, not just replacing an aging design with a newer equivalent.

For the commercial market, the practical upshot is straightforward. The CZ P-10 C OR at $450-550 MSRP is now a military-adopted platform. The aftermarket support, parts availability, and institutional knowledge that come with Bundeswehr adoption will only strengthen a pistol that was already worth considering. Check our Best 9mm Pistols guide to see how it compares to the top civilian alternatives.