#SystemSturmgewehrBundeswehr

Last week we reported that the German government had allotted funds for the Bundeswehr’s procurement of its new rifle – the G95A1. Heckler & Koch have now released a statement and some photographs of the Bundeswehr’s new rifles. The new The ‘System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr’ or Bundeswehr Assault Rifle System will be made up of two variants of the HK416 – the G95A1, with a 16.5 inch barrel and the G95KA1 carbine variant which will have a 14 inch barrel. The A1 designation suffix has likely been chosen to differentiate it from the HK416A7 variant, with a 14.5 inch barrel, which is already  in use with Germany’s Special Forces Command – the KSK.

On 14 December the German government’s Budget and Defense Committees convened and the initial funds for the procurement of the German Army’s next service rifle were granted. This clears the way for the initial procurement of the HK416A8 as the G95A1.

Following on from the surprising news of yesterday, that  C.G. Haenel MK556 rifle had won the German Army tender to replace the Heckler & Koch G36, confirmation has now been officially announced.

The Federal Agency for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Federal Armed Forces (BAAINBw) has released a tender worth 125 million Euros (approximately $153 million) for 103,090 combat sights.

DefenceWeb recently released a video overview of the new Steyr / Rheinmetall RS-556 assault rifle. The rifle, a sort of hybrid between an AR-15 and a Steyr AUG, was submitted to the Bundeswehr’s System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr trials, competing against both Heckler & Koch’s HK416 and the new HK433 assault rifles. The RS-556, mechanically, is substantially different from a basic AR-15, and therefore occupies an interesting spot in-between being an AR-15 variant and a completely different weapon. The upper receiver is a single piece forged unit, with an AUG-style fixed extension/trunnion and quick change barrel. An AUG-style short stroke tappet gas system and connecting operating rod replace the AR-15’s direct impingement system. In the upper, a steel insert, rather than the aluminum receiver itself, guides the bolt carrier group. This feature is supposed to increase upper receiver life, and improve its maintenance characteristics, although it does make the rifle significantly heavier.

Representatives of the German gun manufacturing company Heckler & Koch confirmed today that the company has submitted both the HK416 assault rifle and the new HK433 modular assault rifle to the Bundeswehr’s System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr (SSB) rifle trials,  which are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018.

At the 2017 Association of the United States Army annual meeting, Heckler & Koch brought out a weapon much talked-about but not seen on a US show floor until now: The HK433 rifle. Designed on the heels of the G36 controversy and intended to add a modern, inexpensive modular rifle to the Heckler & Koch lineup, the HK433 melds the features of the HK416 and G36 together into a single platform. From the G36, it takes its basic operating mechanism, polymer lower receiver, and basic disassembly procedure, while from the HK416, it takes the AR-15-compatible magwell, barrel design, aluminum receiver construction, and AR-15 fire control group.

The G36’s replacement is now known to be one of five guns – or at least that’s the report coming from reputable defense outlet IHS Jane’s. Competing in Germany’s System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr (Bundeswehr Assault Rifle System) will be the Rheinmetall RS556, Heckler & Koch HK433, Haenel Defence MK556, SIG MCX, and FNH SCAR. For four contestants, no known 7.62mm variants exist; only the FN SCAR has a 7.62mm variant – the SCAR-H – that is known publicly. This means the Bundeswehr will likely not be going back to .30 caliber infantry rifles any time soon.

The timeline for the replacement of the troubled G36 rifle with a new yet-to-be-selected weapon has been announced by the Bundeswehr. The German System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr (SSB)program was announced on February 3rd, 2016, with the solicitation itself being released on April 19th, 2017. According to Polish gun magazine MilMag, the testing and evaluation segment of the program was begun in July of this year, and is expected to be completed by November 2018. Between December of 2018 and April of 2019, the Bundeswehr will deliberate on the winner of the contract, which is expected to be awarded the following month in May. Final testing and troop trials will be conducted over the course of the next year, and fielding is expected to occur starting in September of 2020. Notably, it seems the new weapon is certainly not considered an “interim” item, as it is expected to serve through 2046.