G36 - Alternatives? What alternatives?

The matter blown into a scandal and even an affair about the allegedly insufficient accuracy of the G36 assault rifle when heavily heated is now tipping against Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and her ministry. The desperate attempt by the Ministry of Defense to shift the blame to the manufacturer of the weapons, Heckler & Koch, and therefore to assign the company total responsibility for this absurd spectacle, will not work. Despite numerous media-installed investigation groups, the Ministry is increasingly losing credibility in its attempt to discredit the G36, according to SPARTANAT author Udo Lücken.

Let's ignore the years of mostly unsound reporting in the media, filled with rampant half-knowledge and deliberate falsehoods that clearly demonstrated the reporters' lack of technical understanding.

Let's ignore the increasing number of soldiers, reservists, and even police officers from both inside and outside the country who are speaking up, often in the comment sections of established print and online media, expressing their astonishment at the blanket accusations and sharing their positive operational experiences with the G36 assault rifle. Some even explicitly thanked the engineers and workers at Heckler & Koch in their texts.

Furthermore, let's disregard the Ministry of Defense's ignorance of the fact that in 1996, the Bundeswehr ordered a clearly and comprehensively defined assault rifle for its soldiers and precisely this, in a quantity of 176,000, was delivered by Heckler & Koch. There have been no (real) complaints of defects from the operational troops that would stand up to scrutiny. Anyone can complain.

If someone orders a good compact car for daily work, they will naturally not receive a high-performance sports car. If they want to drive a sports car, they must also pay a sports car price, as the development and production of such cars are very investment-intensive and complex.

The fact is, the troops are supposed to get a new assault rifle in the long term. The Minister, based on the 372-page final report, sees no future for the G36 in the Bundeswehr.

What remains is the core question: ... and what now? What comes after the so-called flawed G36? Who can, should, will take over, and who will pay for it all? There are only a handful of companies worldwide that have the technical, production, and logistical capabilities to meet the immediate need for approximately 8,000 units for units in current overseas missions and later the remaining overall need of about 170,000. All of these companies are headquartered in Europe and the USA.

Regarding technological innovations, it is worth noting that the British and American provider Enfield and Colt have repeatedly requested support from Heckler & Koch in recent years to address significant "teething problems" in their product lines. In numerous "Over the Beach" tests according to USSOCOM standards and subsequent endurance testing, these providers could not sustainably compete with comparable weapons from Heckler & Koch in international tenders.

The increasingly confident manufacturers of firearms in Southern and Eastern Europe have been able to rely extensively on the support of engineers and technicians from Heckler & Koch in developing their innovative product portfolios at the outset. Two pioneers to mention are the Czech company CZ (Česká zbrojovka) with their CZ 805 BREN family (pictured above) and the Bullpup assault rifle VHS-2 from HS PRODUKT in Croatia. The Turkish firearms company MKEK & Kalekalıp has also attracted attention with its new assault rifle project MPT-76 at the EUROSATORY trade show in Paris. It has been the standard rifle of the Turkish army since mid-May 2014. The substantial German influence is unmistakable here as well.

Lastly, Heckler & Koch itself remains. Currently available here are the HK416 model in 5.56mm caliber and its larger brother, the HK417 with 7.62mm caliber, originally intended for the US military (DEVGRU, DELTA Forces, and others), as well as the US police/border security forces, to replace the Colt M4 variants. At Heckler & Koch's development department, work is also underway on another assault rifle model. It is in the final development phase but is still being kept under wraps.

In the coming months, it will be seen whether the Ministry, along with its subordinate departments, once again orders only a compact car (without a spare tire, windshield wipers, and windshield), even though the operational reality urgently requires a high-flying deep-sea sports car.

This article first appeared in the newsletter Verteidigung. Reprinted with permission.

SPARTANAT articles on the G36 topic:

– G36 - Defamation

– G36 - What Heckler & Koch Says

– G36 - What the Bundeswehr Says

– G36 - Reading Tea Leaves