C.G. Haenel MK556 wins German tender to replace G36
 

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...g36-successor/

Wow. And I thought Haenel had a practically zero chance here.

So what does this mean for HK and its products? Do they still have other contracts running with the Bundeswehr? Or will they finally start looking towards the civilian US market to make up the shortfall?

:D

It's a big loss no doubt, but the Bundeswehr still uses quite a few HK weapons. MG4, MG5, MP7, HK416, G28 and other 417 variants, etc. Plus, they're outfitting the whole French armed forces with HK416s and several other nations still use the G36 in spite of the Bundeswehr's losing favor in it. I think they'll be all right in the long run. I'm just wondering if they're going to accept the loss with dignity or throw an absolute shit fit like Glock did when they were passed over in the MHS tender.

And the USMC M27 and M38 contracts.

They're doing just fine.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...DLEONZ5Hgf9cTI

I'm wondering what's gonna happen with the HK433. Its adoption as a service rifle by another country seems unlikely for now, so I guess it will either be canceled or probably become available to the civilian market.

The M38 is just an M27 with a Leupold TS-30A2 scope (taken from stored Mk 12 SPRs, which were all withdrawn from service in 2017) tacked onto it, so it's not really a separate rifle contract.

This sucks for H&K, but given some of their high-visibility contracts with other foreign governments (including the U.S.), I can’t imagine this will hurt their bottom line. Whether it erodes their reputation in the long run is TBD.

I wonder how that’s going to go for them? This isn’t the U.S.; protesting a contract bid loss with the German government is a long and challenging process (and the Bundestag actually was planning to pass new legislation which gives the government more leeway in waiving EU requirements for competitive selection processes for “national security” reasons, prior to COVID-19). Read up on how German Naval Yards and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems have protested their losing bid on the MKS 180 frigate program, and you’ll see what I mean. I’m sure H&K will protest, regardless, but they’ve gotta know what a waste it’s going to be.

Twist!

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...-haenel-mk556/

Patent infringement? Yeah, because HK totally was the first one to put a piston on an AR, not Eugene Stoner the guy who invented the whole platform. :rolleyes:

Seeing as how the designer of the Haenel was one of the designers of the 416, that really paints a picture that he directly implemented features from the 416 that may be patented. Having said that, he also helped design the SIG 516 after working on the 416 and HK haven't gone after that as far as i know, so god only knows what their specific issue is.

I think their specific issue is "OMG, we lost?! How dare they!" Not unlike Glock when the US Army picked SIG two years ago. It's even the exact same circumstances where all the entries met the requirements, but one was cheaper.

Apparently they also justified it that the Haenel had 7% better penetration. To me this sounds made up as they would have been using the same ammo out of the same barrel length so I don't get exactly how there would have been a measurable difference.

Yeah, that sounds unlikely to me, too. It wouldn't surprise me if it's falsified. HK winning the lawsuit that the German government filed against them over the G36 controversy could be construed as a bit of a black eye and embarrassment for the latter.

This was revealed a few months ago (I had forgotten about this topic), but anyway the HK416 A8 is being chosen so far.

https://strikehold.net/2021/03/02/th...ins-after-all/

I wonder if they are really still trying to make HKey a thing, or if the actual adopted gun will be different. The L85A3 was in service for less than 3 years before they started replacing the HKey handguards with new MLOK ones.

After several months have passed, images of the HK416 A8 are still showing it with the HKey. On the other hand, recent versions of the HK433 shown there and at Enforce Tac 2022 do have M-LOK handguards, so... we never know.

I guess we can't say they aren't trying with HKey, huh?

https://media.tenor.com/images/47e1c...667b/tenor.gif

So, the reason Haenel's contract for the MK556 was revoked? Drainage holes in the recoil spring assembly. Yes, folks, apparently HK has a trademark on drilling holes in the buffer tube.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...-cr223-rifles/

Words fail me.