Heckler & Koch G36 - Wikipedia

Development

In the 1970s, arms manufacturers in Germany began work on a successor for the G3 rifle, resulting in the creation of the 4.73 mm G11 assault rifle (developed jointly by a group of companies led by Heckler & Koch) that used caseless ammunition (designed by Dynamit Nobel). This weapon was intended to replace the G3, therefore further development of Heckler & Koch's series of firearms chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge was halted. Heckler & Koch, having no incentive to pursue a new 5.56 mm weapon system, was content with the export-oriented HK33 and G41 rifles. However, the G11 program came to an abrupt end when the Bundeswehr cancelled its procurement due to defence budget cuts resulting from the unification of East and West Germany, and Heckler & Koch's 1991 acquisition by British Aerospace's Royal Ordnance division (known today as BAE Systems).

Increasing demand for a modern service rifle, chambered in the NATO-standard 5.56 mm cartridge, led Heckler & Koch to offer the German armed forces the G41 rifle, which, too, was rejected. Design work was initiated on a completely novel, modern 5.56 mm assault rifle; it would later be designated Project 50 or HK50.[2] During testing, prototypes were rated higher than the Austrian competition (the Steyr AUG system).[2] The final version of the G36 was completed in 1995, and production began in 1996. The G36C was first adopted as the standard-issue rifle of US special forces unit TF23.[when?]

Production

The HK50 rifle was selected for service and an initial order was placed for 33,000 rifles under the Bundeswehr designation Gewehr G36. The order included an option for a further 17,000 rifles. Deliveries were first made to the Bundeswehr's NATO Quick Reaction Force during the fourth quarter of 1997. The G36's production line was started in early 1996.

Replacement

In April 2012, reports surfaced that G36 rifles used in Afghanistan would overheat during prolonged firefights after several hundred rounds were fired. Overheating affected the accuracy of the G36, making it difficult to hit targets past 100 metres, ineffective past 200 metres, and incapable of effective fire past 300 metres. The G36 has been called unsuitable for long battles. Operational commanders advised allowing the weapon to cool between periods of rapid shooting.[4][5][6]

In February 2014, the German Federal Ministry of Defence announced that the overheating deficiencies of the G36 were not a result of weapon design, but of the ammunition. A report by the Bundeswehr on 21 February 2014 revealed that the issues were not the fault of the rifle, but that one manufacturer of ammunition was making bullets with copper-plated jackets that were too thin.[7][8][better source needed] The manufacturer of the ammunition confirmed this,[9] although experts disagreed, and also said the accuracy problems were already known to the defence ministry by 2010.[10]

On 22 June 2014, it was reported that Germany's defense ministry had temporarily halted new orders worth €34 million ($45 million) over accuracy concerns for the rifle. The Bundeswehr consulted the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics (Ernst Mach Institut) and the Federal Criminal Police Office.[11] On 30 March 2015, Minister of Defence Ursula von der Leyen told Associated Press that the weight-saving design was the root of the issues.[12] This was based on a letter from Inspector General Volker Wieker advising the Stewards of the Defence and Budget Committees of the Bundestag and the troops in advance of publication of the report.[13][14] The report was released by the Fraunhofer Ernst Mach Institut and Wehrtechnische Dienststelle 91 on 19 April 2015. According to their 372-page report, the observed hit rate of the predominantly plastic weapon with the unsupported free-floating barrel drops down to a mere 7% at 100 metres when the temperature increases by 30 °C (86 °F) or more, whereas the Bundeswehr required a hit rate of 90% at that distance.[15][16]

On 22 April 2015, von der Leyen announced that the G36 would be phased out of the German army due to these concerns and stated that "The Heckler & Koch G36 has no future in the German army in its current state of construction."[17] Von der Leyen considered the weapon to be useless[18] and stated that the German military would stop using an assault rifle that could not shoot straight when temperatures increased or the rifle heated up during a firefight.[19]

In 2016, the Ministry of Defence attempted to sue Heckler & Koch, saying they were legally obligated to repair the subpar G36 rifles. Because the Bundeswehr did not make its specifications for the weapon clear enough in the beginning of the procurement process,[20][3] the District Court of Koblenz rejected claims from the Bundeswehr procurement office, and ruled that Heckler & Koch did not have to pay damages on the 167,000 rifles still in use out of more than 176,000 G36 rifles Germany had originally purchased.[21]

The Bundeswehr began the System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr (Bundeswehr Assault Rifle System) effort to replace the G36 in 2017. Initially, C.G. Haenel won the competition in September 2020 offering their Haenel MK 556. However, German authorities cancelled the contract the next month, amid allegations that the MK 556 infringed on Heckler and Koch patents, and the G95A1 (known as the HK416 A8 during field testing) was selected in early 2021. Haenel sued to attempt to reverse the decision, but a German court dismissed the lawsuit in June 2022. In December 2022, the Bundestag approved initial funding to begin procuring the rifles. The Bundeswehr expected to purchase 118,718 rifles, designated G95A1 (with a 16.5 in (420 mm) barrel) and G95KA1 (with a shorter 14 in (360 mm) barrel). Fielding is planned to start in 2026.[22][23][24]