The Bundeswehr has difficulties in purchasing new assault rifles. None of the offered weapons from different manufacturers meet the requirements.
Source: WORLD / Isabelle Bhuiyan
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The Bundeswehr has problems with the purchase of new assault rifles, as emerges from an internal paper.
The Bundeswehr has unexpected problems with the purchase of new assault rifles. In the first tests of the weapons offered by different manufacturers none of the requirements of the armed forces. Comparative testing has shown that "none of the products offered fulfills all the services required by the contracting authority," according to a confidential letter from the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Bundeswehr (BAAINBw) to the Ministry of Defense. The paper is available to the WORLD ON SUNDAY.
Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) had decided to cancel the assault rifle G36, currently the order weapon of the Bundeswehr, and in 2021 to replace it with a successor model. The international tender procedure for the new rifles began in April 2017 with a definition of the required performance data. In September 2017, defense companies were asked to submit bids. In February 2018 the offer period ended.
No rifle met the requirements
Since then, so-called "pre-contractual comparative trials" of the offered rifles have been carried out. It "turned out contrary to expect that the fulfillment of individual must-claims by the presented assault rifles could not be provided," it says in a letter from the Procurement Office. The companies were granted a deadline of 15 February 2019 to remedy the deficiencies. Then the rifles have to be checked again. This delay "the project by about eight months," said the authority.
In addition, the Federal Court of Auditors doubts that the penetration rate of the rifles required in the call for tenders fundamentally meets the requirements of the Bundeswehr. The auditors substantiate their doubts with a "study of the army" and "demands" of the armed forces base, as stated in the letter from BAAINBw. The companies had submitted only offers for rifles with the caliber 5.56 millimeters. However, some forces demanded at least partial equipment with the larger 7.62-millimeter caliber.
The Court of Auditors has been assured that the Procurement Office will write to the Ministry "to verify penetration performance by means of separate investigations" in order to remedy the concerns. The results should then be evaluated by the planning office of the Bundeswehr . In a negative assessment "the award procedure would be canceled," it continues. If it came to that, the Bundeswehr would have to wait many more years for a new assault rifle.
For reasons of procurement law, the Ministry of Defense keeps secret which companies have applied for the contract. It is known that the handgun armored Heckler & Koch , which also manufactures the G36, is one of the applicants. The G36 was the subject of a dispute between the Leyen and the manufacturer. The minister had given her opinion on insufficient accuracy of the assault rifle under extreme conditions such as sustained fire or great heat.
Surveys of experienced soldiers had revealed, however, that the G36 was reliable and easy to use. In addition, a court had confirmed to the manufacturer that the standard weapon of the German Armed Forces had no deficiencies compared to the contractual requirements. Nevertheless, the Leyen decided to cancel all 167,000 G36 rifles in the armed forces.
Now tendered are 120,000 new assault rifles for the price of 250 million euros. Due to also advertised accessories, the order volume grows to around 400 million euros. The actual price will then be negotiated with the selected manufacturer only after an award decision. In any case, the delay will incur further costs. Thus, for the new tests material costs in the amount of 750,000 euros would be due, writes the BAAINBw. In addition there would be personnel costs.
The longer useful life of the G36 may also require "regeneration" of the old rifle. A Defense Department spokesman did not want to comment on that. He said only that until the completion of the procurement process for a new weapon "the operational capability of the G36 assault rifle is fully ensured."
, God knows where that country will be in another 10 years. 
