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The decision not only surprised the experts: an order for the supply of assault rifles to the German Armed Forces went to the arms manufacturer Haenel of Thuringia. Heckler & Koch, on the other hand, left empty-handed and now wants to take action against the award.
In the fight for a major order of 250 million euros from the German armed forces for new assault rifles, the defeated arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch does not want to give up. The Oberndorf company in Baden-Württemberg announced that it had filed a claim with the responsible procurement office on time. Such a claim is a prerequisite of public procurement law to subsequently initiate a claim on public procurement. This would then have a suspensive effect on the award of the contract. The “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” had already reported on the complaint.
Surprising decision for Haenel
Last week, the Federal Defense Ministry surprisingly decided not to buy assault rifles from Heckler & Koch for the first time in six decades, but from small competitor CGHaenel.
The Thuringian armory is expected to deliver 120,000 assault rifles in six years. The volume of the tender is 245 million euros; This includes rifles, but also special sights, telescopic sights, and other parts from other companies. After the decision, Haenel announced that the manufacture of the assault rifle for the Bundeswehr would take place for the most part in Germany.
Doubts about production capacity
From military circles it was said that the Haenel weapon was a little better suited to the requirements, but significantly cheaper. However, public questions arose as to whether Haenel (the company is part of an UAE arms company) and how it can manufacture 120,000 weapons.
Furthermore, the company claimed that, as part of the Merkel group of companies, it produces in a “modern, high-performance production company with a high degree of vertical integration.” The group of companies covers all the basic skills of arms manufacturing with 120 highly qualified and specialized employees. Managing Director Olaf Sauer also noted that Haenel is already a supplier to the German authorities and armed forces.
Heckler & Koch is having difficulty awarding contracts
For Heckler & Koch, the decision of the Ministry of Defense is a major setback. The company is heavily in debt and the Bundeswehr is so far its biggest customer. The company also supplies machine guns and grenade launchers to the German army, but they do most of their business with assault rifles.
Shortly after the award decision, the company announced that it was considering legal action.
Over and over disputes with the federal government
With the complaint, legal disputes continue between the 1,000-employee Black Forest company and the federal government. In 2015, then-Federal Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen complained of accuracy deficiencies in the G36 assault rifle during continuous fire. The Koblenz district court rejected the federal government’s claims for damages. According to the ruling, Heckler & Koch had delivered what was ordered.
In the current award procedure, there had already been discrepancies, for example Heckler & Koch had objected to the test conditions for the selection of the new assault rifle.
Procurement lawyer Jan Byok believes that the arms manufacturer’s current legal steps have little chance of success: “The procurement office has significantly improved its quality of prosecution in the arms sector in recent years,” says the attorney for the dpa news agency. Since there is already a legal history between the procurement office and Heckler & Koch, he hopes that the office has secured particularly thorough and careful insurance in this case.
