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The German Short Range Sniper Rifle (G26) tender was cancelled and rescheduled a few months ago, but that hasn’t stopped the Federal Office responsible for the Bundeswehr equipment procurement (BAAINBw) to place an order with the riflescope specialist Schmidt & Bender. The order was placed on December 28, 2020, and there were two companies fighting for the order.
The riflescope is going to be quite unique, as they will only order 145 pieces. A number conveniently fitting the number of G26 rifles that will be purchased eventually.
The Bundeswehr requirement was for a high-end riflescope with a minimum of 5 to a minimum of 16 power magnification. The reticle should be TReMoR 3 (see the reticle below). There should be a possibility to attach an “emergency sight” (read Red Dot) 45 degrees on the side.
According to the contract, Schmidt & Bender must supply 5 riflescopes with accessories. They have to be in the specified color Cerakote Sniper Gray H-234. Like we have mentioned in previous articles, grey and brown grey are now the colors in fashion for the armies in Europe.
Below you can see the summary (auto-translated and edited from German).
G26 Riflescoppe – Summary of the design features requested:
1. Rifle scope, straight,
2. Weight less than 1000 g, (35,2 Ounce)
3. Overall length less than 310 mm, (12,2″)
4. Magnification: Minimum 5 power to minimum 16 power.
5. Installation: STANAG 4694 rail of the weapon,
6. Inclination of the assembly to the tube core axis 20 MOA,
7. Distance between optical axis and mounting rail of the weapon: 38 mm
8. Weight of the assembly less than 400 g,
9. Waterproof down to 24 m.
10. Reticle: TReMoR 3
11. Light Transmittance min. 92%,
12. Vertical and horizontal adjustment with 0.1 milrad per “click”; positive clockwise turn
13. Horizontal (side adjustment) min. 60 click,
14. Vertical (height adjustment) min. 260 click,
15. Attachment for “emergency sight” (45 Degrees) by means of an adapter to the scope or weapon,
16. Climate categories A 1-3, B 1-3, C 1-2 * and M 1-3 acc. STANAG 4370,
17. Service life minimum: 6000 shots,
18. Coloring: surface coating gray, comparable to Cerakote Sniper Gray H-234.
1. Laser protection filter,
2. Sun visor,
3. Honeycomb / back light filter,
4. Night fighting, optical emergency visor 45 degrees
5. Tilting bubble,
6. Extensible protective cover for lens and eyepiece (bikini cover),
7. Rigid protective covers for the lens and eyepiece, spring-loaded (flip cover),
8. Protective cover (outside multitarn / inside white / snow camo),
9. Cleaning device
10. Operating instructions / care instructions / cataloging data.
TReMoR 3 reticle
S&B 5-20×50 PMII on a hunting rifle, courtesy of Spuhr. Leica Vector LRF.
The selected rifle scope model is not yet official, but based on the required criteria (at least five to at least 16 times magnification, weight less than one kilo, total length less than 310mm) a version of the 5-20 x 50 PM II Ultra Short is the one and only candidate unless they make a completely new design which is highly unlikely. TFB reached out to Schmidt & Bender for more details, but at the moment they are not ready to give any comments.
Coincidentally, we are currently reviewing the 5-20×50 PM II Ultra Short scope but the weather has been absolutely horrible for the past two months so we continue our testing hoping for some sunshine. So far, we are very impressed with the optic, and we have been using the new MSR2 reticle.
Below: Top and bottom are the 5-20×50 PMII Ultra Short. The top one is not illuminated, it lacks the “knob” on the side. This shows how compact these optics are.
For more details on the G26 Sniper Rifle, you can check this article.
For more cool riflescopes and combinations please check the Schmidt & Bender 3-27×56 PMII with Pulsar Krypton FXG50 Thermal Clip-On or the 1-8×24 PM II ShortDot Dual CC, as used by the French and German Armed (Special) Forces. You can also find the S&B 5-20 PMII on this camouflaged Kalashnikov SVCh-308 Designated Marksman Rifle.
