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

[Spartan198]

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

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

[Mazryonh]

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?

[Spartan198]

Originally Posted by Mazryonh

So what does this mean for HK and its products?

Originally Posted by TFB commentator HemingwaysBeard

Meanwhile, at HK Corporate Headquarters...

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?

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.

[funkychinaman]

Originally Posted by Spartan198

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.

[funkychinaman]

They're doing just fine.

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

[Spartan198]

Originally Posted by funkychinaman

And the USMC M27 and M38 contracts.

The M38 is just an M27 with a Leupold TS-30A2 scope (taken from stored Mk 12 SPRs, which were all withdrawn from service in 2017) tacked onto it, so it's not really a separate rifle contract.

[Ultimate94ninja]

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.

[MT2008]

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.

Originally Posted by Spartan198

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.

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.

[funkychinaman]

Twist!

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

[Spartan198]

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.