Make the HK G11 the new standard Arm of the German Bundeswehr

Currently Germany is looking for a new standard rifle to adapt for the Bundeswehr. During the latest public competition the MK556 by C.G. Haenel got chosen. This gun uses a similar system to the standard AR-15 operating system, an older version of the AR-18 on which the G 36 was based.

Adopting a new service rifle is a huge undertaking. And it’s very expensive. When choosing to go this way a government should try to look forward and adapt a gun which stays good and innovative for the foreseeable future. The MK556 uses the same technique used by the US-Army in the Vietnam war, half a century ago. It’s improvements are minor and mainly concern attachments. Even compared to the over 20 year old HK G36 it looks like a step back. So why should the German Government spend millions and millions of euro to adopt a non innovative or even obsolete design?

Germany has a proud tradition of staying ahead in the area of small arms. If it is the first mass-use of needle fired rifles, the first mass-issued MP or the grandfather of all assault rifles, the STG 44 - Germany was always ahead of other nations when it comes to small arms. Even the G36 with it’s heavy use of polymers and extremely lightweight was ahead of the bulky mainly metal rifles of other nations. And now we should sacrifice this tradition for some vietnam era technology?

Currently there are many new trends emerging in the world of small arms. One of the biggest one is the development of caseless ammunition. Having no cartridge makes ammunition lighter, allowing the soldier in the field more firepower. The US military is currently looking into adopting a caseless ammunition based rifle. And once again, Germany was cutting edge.

In the 1980’s the German Government together with H&K developed the G11. A truly modern assault rifle using caseless ammunition. In the early 1990’s it was already tested by the Bundeswehr and seen as fit for service. The gun wasn’t adopted, as the cold war ended and the German reunification created new challenges for the Bundeswehr. The G36 was adopted as a stop gap measure until the army would be ready to adopt a truly modern rifle.

So naturally now would be the time to reconsider the HK G11. But the last public competition was nearsighted and didn’t allow for a true improvement, a truly new and cutting edge gun. And now, as the old school MK556 gets discussed, it's our last chance to put the german procurement process back on track, to seek greatness once again.

So let’s adopt the HK G11 as the new service rifle for the Bundeswehr.