According to the website Augen Geradeaus (meaning Eyes Straight Ahead) the German-American company Sig Sauer is now out of the competition for the successor of the HK G36 rifle for the Germany Army.

Sig Sauer has withdrawn the offer of the MCX rifle. One of the reasons is due to the ITAR legislation. One down, two (in reality) companies left.

The Firearm Blog reported and warned about these issues already over a month ago in this article: Germany’s next Army Rifle cannot be American due to ITAR

Needless to say, the CEO of Sig Sauer, Franz von Stauffenberg, is very critical to the tender. Due to the procurement laws, the Ministry of Defense cannot comment on Sig Sauer’s criticism.

Unfortunately for Sig Sauer (and possibly more suppliers with ITAR realted issues) this means they have to withdraw from the competition.

In reality this means that only Heckler & Koch (with the new HK433 and the more proven, but also more expensive, HK416) as well as Steyr Mannlicher with their co-operation with Rheinmetall (with their RS556).

Above: Steyr RS556. Below: HK433

I don’t have a price list, but I’ve heard that the HK433 and the HK416 might not be so different in price. The HK416 carries a premium, but it might still be worth it.

The HK416 is tested over and over. Both the HK433 (and whatever other new rifles HK might have in the tender) and the Steyr Mannlicher RS566 are brand new. It means that the German Army would become the testers.

If France could afford it (HK416F), and the German Special Forces use it, as well as many other Allies it would make a whole lot of sense to chose the HK416 (A7 version I presume) apart from strict economical reasons.

Below: Heckler & Koch 416 G38 from EnforceTac 2017.

There might not be a huge difference in the total cost of acquisition between the 433 and the 416.

Source: Augen Geradeaus

Below: The Heckler & Koch G36. The rifle that’s going to be replaced.