It’s now on, the search for the replacement of the 5.56mm G36 Assault Rifle as the standard issue for the Bundeswehr (German Army). It was just a matter of time before the Germans started looking for a new rifle for their soldiers and according to the Polish website, Milmag.pl, the BAAINBw (Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr or The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support), has released a tender for the System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr April 19, 2017 and are expecting submissions on or before the deadline of May 22, 2017.
Whatever company or rifle will win, the Bundeswehr will be expecting a delivery of 120,000 rifles under a 7-year contract worth EUR245 million or around us$263 million. The first delivery will be expected on the 1st of April 2019 and the final batch will be by the 31s of March 2026. The G36 will then start to be withdrawn from the service by the 3rd quarter of 2020.
The Heckler & Koch HK433 is expected to be the company's offering as the G36 replacement.
In the Milmag report, the Bundeswehr is interested in a two variants of the rifle, a longer and shorter version and did not specify any preference for the caliber, allowing companies to submit 5.56mm x 45 NATO or the 7.62mm x 51 NATO. The rifle should have fully ambidextrous operations to allow both right-handed and left-handed soldiers to operate the rifle with ease.
One potential contender is the RS556 from Rheinmetall
The winning rifle should also meet the requirements for the NATO Accessory Rail (NAR) for mounting weapons accessories as defined by Standardization Agreement 4694 (STANAG 4694) which was set in May 2009.
Other potential contenders are the Sig Sauer MCX (top) and the Beretta ARX160 (bottom)
Other specifications are that the rifle should not exceed 3.6kilograms in weight, a 30,000 round receive or structure lifespan and the lifespan of the barrel should be 15,000 rounds. The Bundewehr will be expecting 230 short variants and 160 long variants for testing and integration with existing equipment being currently used. The first production of the series is expected to include 13,929 models with the longer barrel, 3,104 with the short barrel, and 514 to be used as part of simulation systems.
As for the potential contenders, many are expecting Heckler & Koch, the supplier of the G36, to fiercely compete, which will offer the new HK433 (or perhaps the HK416 or HK417). Other bidders expected are Rheinmetall with the RS556 which will be offered jointly with Steyr Mannlicher; SIG Sauer with the MCX; and even the Italian company, Beretta, joining in the fray with the ARX160 and the ARX200. Other companies are enjoined to participate in the bidding process.
Top photo: German Soldiers with the G36 in Bosnia (Source: Wikipedia)