Tag Archives: Heckler & Koch

HK416A8 in Der Haus: German Army Issues First Heckler & Koch G95 Rifles

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The German Bundeswehr recently issued the first of at least 122,000 dirty mustard-toned HK416A8 rifles to army infantrymen– and more guns are on the way.

Heckler & Koch has had a lock on German infantry rifles going back to the 7.62 NATO Gewehr 3 (G3), which was adopted in 1959 and is still in limited service. The newly adopted System Sturmgewehr G95A1 in 5.56 NATO is replacing the futuristic-looking G36 in the same caliber, which in turn has been supplementing the G3 since 1996.

HK416A8, Germany’s new standard issue rifle, type classified as the G95. (Photo: Bundeswehr)

The first of the new rifles was issued at Grafe to troops of Panzergrenadier Battalion 122 (PzGrenBtl 122), a “tip of the spear” unit garrisoned in Oberviechtach, Bavaria, on the Czech border (cue the comic rimshot).

In Grafenwöhr, the Deputy Inspector of the Army, Lieutenant General Heico Hübner (left), together with Vice Admiral Carsten Stawitzki from the Ministry of Defense, presented the first new G95 rifles to the troops. (Photo: Bundeswehr)

It appears that all of the issued rifles recently shown off are the shorter G95KA1 variant, with the “K” being “kurz” or short, as it has a 14-inch barrel. (Photo: Bundeswehr) (Official caption: In Grafenwöhr wurde das neue Sturmgewehr der Bundeswehr, das G95 A1, an das Panzergrenadierbataillon 122 aus Oberviechtach feierlich übergeben am 4. Dezember 2025.)

The G95, adopted in 2021, will be fielded in both the standard 16-inch G95A1 and shorter G95KA1, both of which are lighter and shorter than the G36 they are replacing. The Elcan Specter DR 1-4x is the companion day optic of record. (Photo: Bundeswehr) (Official caption: In Grafenwöhr wurde das neue Sturmgewehr der Bundeswehr, das G95 A1 an das Panzergrenadierbatallion 122 aus Oberviechtach feierlich übergeben am 4. Dezember 2025.)

The G95, as with the HK416 in general, uses a robust, AR-18 style short-stroke gas piston system rather than the more traditional AR-15 direct gas impingement. (Photos: Bundeswehr)

It uses STANAG 4694 rails with M-LOK accessory slots and has an adjustable gas block. Note the full-length top Pic rail

Unlike the G36, the G95, in all Bundeswehr variants, will no longer be black, but greenish-brown, a colorway that has been described by some as “ekelhaftgelb” (disgusting yellow). The reason: black has a higher infrared signature and is therefore easier to detect. (Photo: Bundeswehr)

Das Senfgewehr! (Photo: Bundeswehr)

The Budget Committee of the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, last week approved the purchase of more G95 series rifles, complete with optics and lights. The country, with an ever-more aggressive Russia to the East, is looking to up its military spending and is even flirting with the prospect of returning to peacetime conscription.

First selected by the Bundeswehr in 2014 in its A5 variant for use as the G28 designated marksman rifle, the country also fields the HK416A7 as the standard G95 (no A1), which has been in use with Germany’s special operations units since at least 2018.

The above shows a German KSK commando with a “50 Shades of FDE” HK416A7/G95 outfitted with an EoTech XPS HWS system and magnifier. (Photo: Bundeswehr)

The German-based Dexheimer channel earlier this year went on a visit to HK’s factory in Oberndorf to get the tour and a deep dive background on the G95. Even if you don’t speak German, you can auto-dub it in English, although you don’t really need to.

Cold War Classic HK G3 Resurfaces in German Use

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The iconic Heckler & Koch-produced 7.62 NATO caliber Gewehr 3 battle rifle officially left German military service in the 1990s, yet it continues to break cover.

The social media page for the Schleswig-Holstein State Command recently posted images of the G3 DMR, or Designated Marksman Rifle, on a military flat range in Hamburg’s Duvenstedt area. The post went on to explain that the robust G3 DMR closes the gap for medium to long distances between Sturmgewehr and Scharfschützengewehr (sniper rifle).

HK G3 DMR in German Army service
Looks like they are getting some work done from the 300m line. (Photos: German Army)
HK G3 DMR in German Army service
Oh, hallo!

The post soon garnered over 300 comments, mainly from German Boomers and Gen X members who had cut their teeth on the G3 while serving in the Bundeswehr during the country’s old conscription days of the Cold War.

West German panzergrenadier jumping off a M48 Patton during the Cold War, HK G3 in hand.

The G3, in then-West German service, replaced the briefly adopted FN FAL in 1959 and was the country’s standard infantry weapon during the Cold War. While officially replacing the HK G36 in 5.56 NATO starting in 1996, and thousands of legacy G3s were given away as military aid to Eastern European (The Baltic Republics) and overseas (Peshmerga) allies, the legendary roller-delayed blowback rifle is still apparently on hand on a just-in-case basis for “Der Tag.”

Since you’ve come this far, enjoy this circa 1970 film, which shows the G3 in production at HK, complete with a funky period soundtrack. Sure, it is in German, but it really needs no translation.

Meet the New Army Small Arms Ammo Facility

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In WWII, the Army had 12 War Department-owned and operated plants dedicated to making small arms ammunition, around the clock.

These plants slowly shuttered post-war, with brief respites caused by Korea and Vietnam, until the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant, which had been placed on “standby” in 1976, was finally closed in 2005, leaving only Lake City AAP in Independence, Missouri as the only remaining Army small arms plant.

Even at that, Lake City was run on contract at first by Olin-Winchester, then Northrop Grumman, and, since 2019, by Olin-Winchester once again.

Well, the Army is moving ahead with the construction of its first new small arms ammunition factory in decades, and it will be dedicated to making ammo for the Next Generation Squad Weapons.

The new 450,000 sq. ft., facility, built on the Lake City AAP campus, had its groundbreaking on Feb. 5.

It will feature modern manufacturing systems capable of producing “all components” of 6.8×51 Common Cartridge ammunition as part of the NGSW program.

The 6.8x51mm, seen in SIG-loaded 113-grain ball for the NGSW program and a .277 Fury commercial load (white tip). (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The Army specified this includes “cartridge case and projectile manufacturing, energetic operations for loading and charging ammunition, product packaging, process quality controls, testing laboratories, maintenance operations, and administrative areas.”

Opening by 2028 (ish), it is expected to be able to make upwards of 400 million rounds a year– against Lake City’s legacy capacity to make 1.4 billion rounds of all other calibers. Until then, 6.8 is sole-sourced through SIG.

More in my column at Guns.com.

HK Has Entered the Micro 9 Game (7 Years Late?)

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Germany’s Heckler & Koch finally dropped a commercially available micro compact 9mm pistol this week, debuting the thoroughly tested HK CC9 onto the market.

The polymer-framed striker-fired “one and a half stack” 9mm offers flush 10+1 and extended 12+1 capacity magazines, is optics-ready (RMSc/407k footprint) with a tritium front sight and a blacked out, serrated rear sight; and is somewhat modular through the use of interchangeable backstraps.

It is almost the exact same size as the SIG P365 (introduced in Jan. 2018), Springfield Armory Hellcat (Aug. 2019), and March 2021’s Ruger MAX-9 and S&W M&P Shield Plus. Then of course there are the more recent Canik Mete MC9, Taurus GX4, Stoeger STR-9MC, et. al, ad nauseum.

However, HK has a big up by saying they held to the same standards as their full-size duty pistols and tested the micro compact to the NATO AC/225 standards across 750,000 rounds. This meant running it in extreme temperatures, dust, sand, and mud, and “being dropped to simulate real-world conditions,” with the latter part seeming like the company was throwing a little shade at some other pistol makers.

So they may have just taken the time to get it right…

More in my column at Guns.com.

Marines Show off Shorty HK416s, M18s in Underway Small Arms Drills

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Marines getting in some live-fire training, while embarked on a Navy amphibious warfare ship, were recently spotted with some interesting new gear. 

The Marines, part of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable)’s Maritime Special Purpose Force, are currently deployed aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5). An elite unit within an elite unit, the MSPF typically includes a SEAL Strike Platoon, a Force Recon Direct Action Platoon, and a platoon from the MEU(SOC)’s boat company, among others. That would explain the extensive use of M27s— itself a version of the well-liked Heckler & Koch HK 416 rifle– modified with HK’s Reconnaissance Weapon Kit. 

The recent photos of the 26th MEU(SOC)’s MSPF show Recon-kitted M27s complete with EoTech holographic sights and PEQ-16 flashlight/laser aiming devices. (Photo: Cpl. Kyle Jia/U.S. Marine Corps)

First spotted in use in 2021, the kit includes a 416A5 upper with an adjustable gas system and 11-inch barrel, allowing for a more compact and suppressor-friendly close-quarters weapon rather than the 16-inch barrel on the standard M27. 

For longer-range work, they have been seen with EoTech magnifiers as well. (Photo: Cpl. Kyle Jia/U.S. Marine Corps)

The SIG Sauer M18, recently adopted as standard across the Marine Corps, is also present on each of the MSPF members, complete with Surefire X300 lights, and lanyards.

(Photo: Cpl. Kyle Jia/U.S. Marine Corps)

(Photo: Cpl. Kyle Jia/U.S. Marine Corps)

(Photo: Cpl. Kyle Jia/U.S. Marine Corps)

As I previously reported, the Marines sought 35,000 of the smaller SIG Modular Handgun System variants to replace Beretta M9 pistols, Colt M45A1 CQB .45ACP railguns, and the M007 Glock.

The 26th MEU(SOC), embarked with the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, has been deployed in European waters conducting exercises with NATO allies in the Mediterranean, but this week arrived in the Middle East to support deterrence efforts in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has been harassing oil tankers as of late

Germany Goes HK, Again

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Keeping a tradition established in 1959 alive, the German military will continue to call on HK to deliver its primary infantry rifle.

German Army’s new Basiswaffe System Sturmgewehr will be the HK416 A8. Adopted in two different lengths as the G95A1 and G95KA1, for the Bundeswehr the new guns will replace the HK-made 5.56 NATO-caliber G36, which had been adopted in 1997.

While the HK416 family may look like any old AR15, they are piston guns rather than the more traditional gas impingement system familiar to the Stoner design. Ironically, the proprietary short-stroke gas piston system is derived from the G36 family, which, in turn, owes a lot of groundwork to Stoner’s AR-18 design. The 416 has proven popular enough to be selected as the main infantry weapon for the French and Norwegian militaries as well as to be fielded by the U.S. Marines as the M27. (Photo: Bundeswehr)

HK has produced the futuristic-looking G36 in several variants, including the standard model, the shorter G36K carbine, and the G36C compact, over the past 25 years, and the type is in service with over 40 countries although its primary user has always been the German military, who has used in combat in Afghanistan and Mali.

Prior to the G36, the West German military’s standard battle rifle was the HK-made G3 in 7.62 NATO, which had won a federal government tender in the late 1950s. 

West German panzer grenadier jumping off an M48 Patton during the Cold War, HK G3 in hand.

Of course, the G3 owed its lineage to the Spanish CETME 58, which was basically the final version of Ludwig Vorgrimler’s experimental StG 45(M) developed by Mauser for the Wehrmacht at the end of WWII, using the then-innovative roller-delayed blowback operating system that went on to make HK famous.

But that’s another story…

Guns of the Air Force at 75

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While Ben Franklin theorized using airships to deliver troops to battle behind enemy lines as early as 1783 and the Union Army fielded a balloon service in the Civil War, today’s Air Force traces its origin to the heavier-than-air machines of the U.S. Army’s Aeronautical Division, founded in 1907– just four years after the Wright brothers first flew. After service in Army green during both World Wars, the Air Force became an independent branch of the military in 1947 with the first Secretary of the Air Force named on Sept. 18 and its first Chief of Staff named on Sept. 26. 

To salute the 75th birthday of the USAF this week, I took a deep dive into the small arms of the organization over the years, including some rares.

Cold War-era Colt survival gun prototype
A Cold War-era Colt survival gun prototype on display at the USAF Armament Museum (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Remington XP-100 survival gun
The Remington XP-100 survival gun concept. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Bushmaster Arm Pistol in 5.56mm
The Bushmaster Arm Pistol in 5.56mm was another planned Air Force survival gun that made it about as high as a lead balloon. Bushmaster did, however, put it in limited commercial production. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

More in my column at Guns.com.

 

A Dozen Interesting Takeaways on Sig’s Next Gen Weapons

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I recently got to hang out with the folks from Sig Sauer and learned about the company’s successful submission to the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapons program. 

As part of Sig’s Freedom Days event at the Ben Avery Shooting Center outside of Phoenix, Arizona, the company had its MCX Spear and prototype XM250 light machine gun on display and available for attendees to shoot. 

Jason St. John, a well-mustachioed retired Army Ranger and now Sig’s director for government products, took a break from holding class on the systems and gave us the 411 in the below three-minute video. 

Some of the key takeaways:

  • The MCX Spear/XM5 has a low-profile buttstock that is both extendible and side-folding, providing soldiers a more compact firearm while riding in vehicles and aircraft. Nonetheless, it is still fully deployable with the stock folded. Attached with T27 Torx screws, it can be replaced with other stocks, and Sig has flavors including one with a gas mask cut and a six-way adjustable precision rifle stock. Alternatively, an M4-style tube can be fitted. 
     
  • It is closer in size to a compact AR-10/SR-25 rather than an M4. St. John explained it as “an AR-10 version of the M4 version of the MCX,” in talking about the upscale. “There’s no way to go to a medium-caliber solution without moving up from a small-caliber rifle…you’re not going to get the performance from an M4-sized rifle, so it was inevitable that the rifle was going to grow.”
     
  • The rifle is about as ambi as it comes. This includes a selector lever, bolt catch/bolt release, and a magazine catch/release on both the left and right-hand sides of the lower receiver. 
     
  • It has two charging handles – a rearward handle that is familiar to any AR/M4 user, and a side-mounted non-reciprocating charging handle on the left of the upper, akin to that seen on a G3/HK91 or SCAR NRCH. It folds to a low profile.
     
  • The MCX Spear has a user-swappable barrel and barrel extension held inside two T27 Torx screws in a self-contained clamp. Just loosen it up and swap it out for a shorter barrel or a different caliber. It doesn’t get much more modular than that. Sig has a commercial version of the gun in .277 Fury and 6.5 CM with .308 Win models coming soon. Sig also plans a Sig MCX Spear Rattler with an 8-inch gas trap barrel that, with hybrid ammo, will still provide carbine-like velocity. 
     
  • For those quiet moments, the MCX Spear has a two-position gas valve – “normal” and “adverse,” each with its own suppressed and unsuppressed settings – that allows the user to tweak the gas system for different ammo types and field conditions. Keep in mind that the Army may have to use the rifle anywhere from the polar regions to the jungle and desert. 
     
  • The XM250 has an extendable buttstock. Sig also offers the gun with a side-folding stock, so that already exists should the Army look for a more compact LMG down the road. 
     
  • The charging handle is on the left side of the XM250’s receiver while the feed tray opens from the left as well, rather than the top as on some other machine guns. Sig said this is so the feed tray doesn’t interfere with in-line optics mounted on the gun’s top Pic rail.
     
  • The machine gun has a quick-change barrel with a self-contained clamp that can be changed in seconds. This feature also allows the gun to swap between its standard 6.8 caliber to, for instance, a 7.62 NATO caliber, in minutes. 
     
  • Firing from an open bolt, the XM250 has a three-position safety: safe, full auto, and semi. Unlike other designs, it can be loaded with the bolt forward and charged with the selector on safe. 
     
  • Like the MCX/XM5, the X250 has a two-position (“normal” and “adverse”) gas valve, each with suppressed and unsuppressed settings.
     
  • The hybrid bi-metallic case on the 6.8x51mm cartridge developed for the Army by Sig uses a steel base/head and a brass case to allow the pressure to go from the traditional ~68,000 psi of an all-brass case to the region of 120K psi without any failure while still using conventional primers and powder. This translates to a 350 fps boost in velocity. Alternatively, this also allows for 16-inch-barrel-level velocities from an 8-inch barrel or a 24-inch-barrel-level velo from a 14-inch barrel.

Still curious and want more? Check out St. John’s full 18-minute talk and demo, below, filmed front and center at Freedom Days, an event that is likely coming closer to your area in future months.

Is the Army going back to Battle Rifles?

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While initial media briefs on the systems set to replace the M4 Carbine and M249 SAW on the Army’s frontlines held back some details, the specs are now public. 

The largest and most sweeping small arms program developed by the U.S. military since the 1950s, the Next Generation Squad Weapon initiative recently picked Sig Sauer to provide the XM5 rifle and XM250 light machine gun to replace the M4 and M249, respectively. Both weapons use Sig’s in-house developed SLX suppressor system and 6.8x51mm cartridge– sold on the consumer market as the .277 Sig Fury. Meanwhile, the platforms will use an integrated optics system developed for the purpose by Vortex. 

A briefing by the Army last month immediately after the announcement that Sig was the tentative winner to supply the XM5 and XM250 was fuzzy when it came to weights and dimensions. 

“So, I — so the weights are — I’ll give a comparison to the M4 and the 249 in general weight difference,” said Col. Scott Madore, PM Soldier Lethality when asked. “So, the rifle — the Next-Gen Squad Weapon rifle is about two pounds over the M4. Now the automatic rifle is actually four pounds less than the current M249 squad automatic weapon.”

Now the Army has released the figures, with the XM5 listed as 8.38 pounds, and 9.84 with its suppressor attached. The overall length, with the suppressor attached, is 36 inches with the side-folding stock extended and the standard 15.3-inch barrel. By comparison, the service lists the weight of the M4A1, complete with backup iron sight, sling, adapter rail system, and an empty magazine, as 7.74 pounds. The length of the M4A1 with its stock extended and without a suppressor is 33.82 inches. 

The NGSW-R, the XM5 rifle, is Sig Sauer’s MCX Spear. Using a 20-round magazine, it is chambered in a new 6.8×51 caliber. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Like the combat load of the XM5 compared to the M4, the XM250 user will carry fewer rounds at a heavier weight, described as four 100-round pouches, at 27.1 pounds. The M249 light machine gun combat load, which is three 200-round pouches, weighs 20.8 pounds.

The XM250, Sig Sauer’s light machine gun, is the tentative NGSW-AR winner. Like the XM5, it is chambered in 6.8x51mm. It is expected to replace the M249 SAW in front-line service with the U.S. Army. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Is the juice worth the squeeze? The Army thinks so, saying the benchmark for the 6.8 cartridge was that it weigh less per round than the 7.62 NATO.

With that in mind, in a very real sense, comparing the XM5/XM250 to the M4/M249 is an apple to oranges situation, and it may be more appropriate to journey back to about 1965 and compare the new guns to the M14 battle rifle and M60 machine gun, both of which were in 7.62. 

The basic wood-stocked M14 hit the scales at 9 pounds empty and was, initially, carried with five 20-round magazines, later increased to seven mags. A 140-round combat load of 7.62 carried in seven steel M14 mags is 11.2 pounds, or about 1.5 pounds less than the same quantity of 6.8 as carried with the XM5.

A demo of the then-new M14 at Fort Dix in June 1959. Similar in size to the M1 Garand, with 29 of 116 parts interchangeable with that .30-06 semi-automatic rifle, the M14 was select-fire and had a larger, 20-round magazine. (Photo: Springfield Armory National Historic Site)

The M60, which was often derided as “The Pig” due to its weight, took cues from the German MG42 machine gun and, even with the use of early plastics in its furniture, weighed 23 pounds when introduced, although this was later whittled down to a more carry-friendly 18.5 pounds, both figures significantly heavier than the XM250. 

A demo of the then-new M60 before troops. The 23-pound 7.62 NATO belt-fed machine gun replaced the awkward M1919A6 and was considered much lighter than the latter 32-pound weapon, so much so that it was demonstrated firing one-handed overhead. (Photo: Springfield Armory National Historic Site)

As noted by the Army, “The 6.8 mm has proven to outperform most modern 5.56mm and 7.62mm ammunition against a full array of targets.”

Army & Air Force Sniper Rifle Updates

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The Army’s Picatinny Arsenal earlier this month announced it has ordered an additional 485 of the service’s newest bolt-action sniper rifles, the MK22, from Barrett Firearms in Tennessee. Also known as the Advanced Sniper Rifle and the Precision Sniper Rifle, the MK22 is based on Barrett’s Multi-role Adaptive Design, or MRAD, platform. It is part of a program to replace the service’s existing Remington-made M2010 bolt guns, as well as the M107 .50 cal.

The MK22 is a version of Barrett’s popular MRAD bolt gun, which can be swapped between three different calibers on the fly, hence the “Multi Role Adaptive Rifle” abbreviation. The MK22 is part of the Army’s Precision Sniper Rifle Program, which also includes the Leupold Mark 5HD 5-25×56 optic – complete with a flat dark earth coating and the Army’s patented Mil-Grid reticle – on a Badger Ordnance mount, along with a suppressor and a sniper accessory kit. (Photo: U.S. Army)

Meanwhile, the Air Force is almost done fielding 1,500 new M110A1 Squad Designated Marksman Rifles. The SDMR is a variant of HK’s 7.62 NATO G28/HK417 rifle that includes offset backup sights, a Geissele mount, OSS suppressor, Harris bipod, and Sig Sauer’s 1-6x24mm Tango6 optic.

A sergeant with the 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team fires the M110A1 Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDMR) at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (Photo: Spc. Michael Schwenk/New Jersey National Guard)

Why does the Air Force need 1,500 SDMRs?

More in my column at Guns.com.

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