The new G95A1 assault rifle, which should enter service with the Bundeswehr in 2025, does not have sufficient shooting accuracy to pass the appropriate test, the tabloid Bild admitted the day before, on January 26, citing the conclusion of the Federal Audit Chamber of Germany.
“Current tests by the Bundeswehr carried out in laboratory conditions show that the (new) assault rifle does not meet the requirements for accuracy when firing live ammunition. The required shooting accuracy can only be achieved when using cartridges for civilian use,” the regulatory body said.
Thus, the Bundeswehr faces a repeat of the scandal that arose after field tests of the G36 rifle produced by the Heckler & Koch concern. For several years, the subordinate bodies of the German Ministry of Defense responsible for procurement, as well as audit commissions, have been discussing how the G36 meets the requirements for the accuracy of small arms.
In 2015, the then German Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen made a decision according to which more than 180 thousand military personnel received a new rifle.
“The Bundeswehr needs an assault rifle that is sufficiently accurate in real conditions when using live ammunition. The Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Technical Support of the Bundeswehr can no longer guarantee the fulfillment of these conditions for the new G95A1 assault rifle, since the terms of the contract with the weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch were previously changed. The tests carried out do not allow us to give an objective assessment of the accuracy of the new type of small arms,” follows from the report of the Accounts Chamber.
The department’s conclusion, in particular, mentions that the Bundeswehr Arms Procurement Directorate, after the conclusion of the contract, relaxed the requirements for the rifle manufacturer to confirm the accuracy of the weapon. In particular, the department allowed the Heckler & Koch concern to replace a shooting stand that meets NATO standards with the company’s own stand when testing a rifle, to use civilian-style cartridges instead of military ones, and to increase the interval between shots from 3 to 6 seconds. In addition, the tests were carried out at room temperature, whereas the original terms of the contract obligated the concern to conduct tests at extreme temperatures.
“In such new conditions, which have little in common with real ones, the new assault rifle demonstrates acceptable accuracy indicators. Since the requirements changed as part of the amendments to the original version of the contract have been fulfilled, the Bundeswehr Equipment Directorate can no longer require the weapons manufacturer to further improve the G95A1,” the inspection agency’s report emphasizes.
As the responsible persons who audited the contract emphasized, the Bundeswehr also concluded an “excessive and unjustified agreement” with the Heckler & Koch concern for the manufacturer to provide zeroing services for optical equipment, which cost the German treasury an additional 12 million euros.
“The looming scandal around assault rifles proves that the “change of eras” in defense policy, proclaimed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz back in the spring of 2022, has failed,” the tabloid notes.
In addition, as follows from the report of the defense department, the Bundeswehr procurement department in 2023 was unable to absorb more than 280 million euros intended for the purchase of ammunition, despite an acute shortage of shells in the army.
According to the tabloid, the new scandal will likely have consequences for the State Secretary of the German Ministry of Defense for Armaments Benedict Zimmer, for whom a successor is already being sought.
The first samples of the G95A1 should enter service with the German army in 2025.
2024-01-27 18:30:00
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