CZ P13: New Official Sidearm for the German Army
Toward the end of 2025, CZ announced it would be supplying a new standard sidearm to the German Army (Bundeswehr).
The company touted the winning of this contract as one of “the most significant milestones in its history.” The P13, the official military designation for the pistol, has since been making the rounds at industry showings around the world, including SHOT earlier this January.
The Bundeswehr P13 is based on the commercial CZ P-10 C OR (optics-ready) platform and presented in an FDE colorway.
UN12 readers will know we are fans of various CZ platforms for their toughness, accuracy, mechanical innovation, and well-considered ergonomics—particularly the metal-frame 75 series and the Shadow 2.
For its part, the P-10 marked CZ’s entry into the modern striker-fired, polymer-frame pistol market, which was traditionally dominated by gun’s like Glock’s omnipresent and seemingly all-power G19. Since the P-10’s introduction in 2016-2017, the compact striker-fired field has experienced what you might call a full-blown renaissance, which a boggling number of new offerings from a wide variety of international manufacturers.
The P-10 features signature CZ ergonomics on its fiber-reinforced polymer frame, with interchangeable backstraps and ambidextrous controls and an accessory rail up front. It does not, however, feature the slide-in-frame design from the 75, using a more traditional configuration in order to more readily dovetail with the existing striker-fired market ecosystem.
The P-10 is also notable for its cold hammer-forged barrel and a crisp trigger feel that’s widely regarded as one of the best in the striker-fired category. The P-10 C line also features an available optics-ready model (OR designation), on which the German military P13 is based.
And the Bundeswehr selection is particularly notable because the CZ was selected over various competitors, among them several noted German (and Austrian) firearms manufacturers. Definitely a feather in the company’s cap and a notable addition to the company’s portfolio.
Read the official CZ press release here.
CZ
P-10 C OR (P13)
MSRP: From $499
URL: czfirearms.com
