The Selection of Germany’s Next Service Rifle Delayed AgainThe Firearm Blog

It probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone that the decision on which supplier that will deliver the next standard assault rifle for the German Army has reportedly been delayed once again.

According to several German news outlets the program has once again been delayed. What is surprising is that the COVID-19 Coronavirus is not directly mentioned as part of the reason for the delay. Instead one of the potential suppliers has felt disadvantaged, and has filed legal complaints about the process.

Below: Heckler & Koch HK433. Photos of the latest version can be found here.

Below: The Haenel Defense CR223. It is unclear if Haenel Defense remain part of the trials. It is worth remembering that the Haenel RS9 in .338 LM is currently used by the German Army as the G29 Sniper Rifle.

To the best of TFB’s knowledge, both SIG Sauer and Rheinmetall / Steyr Mannlicher have withdrawn from the final part of the process.

The two companies that reportedly remain in the fight are Heckler & Koch and Haenel Defense, but it is unclear exactly which company filed the complaints. Feel free to speculate in the comments below.

Below: The C.G. Haenel GmbH MK556 Assault Rifle. You can check it out here.

Three years after the beginning of this procurement, we were expecting an official announcement at the end of this month (June 2020). Now it seems we – and the German Army – have to wait until October 2020 for more information.

Below: Some pictures of the current German G36 in use during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

1/3 Einsatzausbildung trotz(t) #COVID19. Die 1. #Panzerdivision trainiert professionell, motiviert & fest entschlossen für die #BundeswehrImEinsatz. Mit Hygiene- & Abstandsregeln sowie #MundNasenAbdeckung hat bei der #1PzDiv diese Woche das Training wieder begonnen. pic.twitter.com/fezepxp0Po

— General Eberhard Zorn (@BundeswehrGI) June 5, 2020