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After a long selection process, the Bundeswehr should obtain a new assault rifle from CG Haenel. Following a complaint from competitor Heckler & Koch, the Defense Ministry has withdrawn the order.
The Ministry of Defense has withdrawn the concession of the new Bundeswehr assault rifle to the Thuringian manufacturer CG Haenel. He justified the decision by stating that infringements of patent law could not be ruled out to the detriment of the losing bidder, Heckler & Koch. “The federal government registry will enter into a reevaluation of the offers taking into account all aspects,” he added.
The order involves the delivery of 120,000 new weapons and a volume of almost 250 million euros. In the bidding process for the new assault rifle, the former supplier Heckler & Koch, which until then had produced the G36 for the Bundeswehr, was defeated by its competitor Haenel. However, the award to Haenel in mid-September caused considerable debate. The company belongs to a state group in the United Arab Emirates.
Heckler & Koch G36 matter
After the award, Heckler & Koch filed a claim with the responsible procurement office, a prerequisite for a subsequent award claim. “With the cancellation of the award there is the possibility of ending a failed acquisition project and saving the taxpayer a large block of costs,” said FDP member of the Bundestag Alexander Mülle. “The G36 is a good, well-designed assault rifle that the soldiers are very satisfied with.”
An issue had developed around the G36 supplied by Heckler & Koch in 2012, which started with indications of precision issues. According to subsequent official investigations, these occurred after long sequences of fire or under the influence of heat. The weapon is valued by soldiers to this day.
FPD defense politician: “Incredible rookie mistake”
The defense policy of the FDP, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, called for consequences. “It’s unbelievable. Years of adjudication process, questionable ownership structures, now everything goes back to zero due to incredible rookie mistakes. As if it were toys,” he wrote on Twitter.
For Heckler & Koch, the Berlin decision was a severe setback at an inopportune time. The company is heavily in debt: its financial obligations of € 249 million are approximately as high as the annual turnover (2019: € 239 million).
