Last week we reported that the German government had allotted funds for the Bundeswehr’s procurement of its new rifle – the G95A1. Heckler & Koch have now released a statement and some photographs of the Bundeswehr’s new rifles. The new The ‘System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr’ or Bundeswehr Assault Rifle System will be made up of two variants of the HK416 – the G95A1, with a 16.5 inch barrel and the G95KA1 carbine variant which will have a 14 inch barrel. The A1 designation suffix has likely been chosen to differentiate it from the HK416A7 variant, with a 14.5 inch barrel, which is already in use with Germany’s Special Forces Command – the KSK.
Germany’s Search For a New Service Rifle @ TFB:
- G36 Cannot Hold Accuracy, Bundeswehr Report Confirms
- Bundeswehr Launches New Program, Rifle Tender to Replace H&K G36
- Bundeswehr Narrows Rifle Choice: Heckler & Koch vs Haenel
- Bundeswehr Rifle Trial to Replace G36 Stalls
- C.G. Haenel MK556 Wins German Army Tender To Replace G36
- Bundeswehr Withdraw Order for Haenel MK556
- C.G. Haenel Raided During Investigation into Bundeswehr Rifle Debacle
- Bundeswehr Rifle Debacle: Germany Set to Select HK416 A8?
- Is Germany’s Rifle Nightmare Finally Over?
- German Army One Step Closer To Procuring HK416A8
The G95A1/G95KA1 has a number of small external differences from the G95 including differing barrel lengths, as well as different furniture with the G95A1 having a stock with an adjustable cheek rise and a more drastic pistol grip angle similar to that of the G36. Both share the proprietary HKey accessory mounting systerm. These changes are in line with the requirements of the German Army’s original tender.
HK416A8 – G95KA1 – right side view (via BMVG)
Heckler & Koch GmbH had released a statement on the selection of the HK416 A8 [machine translated]:
The Bundeswehr and the German Bundestag have once again expressed their confidence in the Oberndorf-based small arms specialist Heckler & Koch: in future, the soldiers of the German armed forces will be equipped with the modern HK416 A8 assault rifle.
With the approval of the Defense and Budget Committee, the first samples of the HK416A8 can be handed over to the German Armed Forces for integrated verification. The HK416A8 is the official successor to the G36 from Heckler & Koch, which has been in use in the Bundeswehr since 1996.
Heckler & Koch is very pleased about the important task of being able to continue to provide our servicewomen and men with a first-class and reliably field-tested product.
HK416A8 – G95KA1 left side view (HK)
H&K also shared some new hi-resolution photos of the two rifles via their hecklerundkochgermany “instagram page with the caption: “The new partner of our german soldiers: The HK416 A8 😎”
The German Federal Ministry of Defence announced in a press release that as a result of the Budget and Defense Committees’ meetings the Bundeswehr will be able to procure 118,718 new rifles with a budget of around 209 million Euros or $221 million. The new G95 rifles will be paired with the ELCAN Specter DR 1-4X and the German Ministry of Defence expects the first rifles to enter service by 2024.