Germany wants to replace the H&K G-36 rifles after the lack of effectiveness in extreme combat conditions, during the operations in Afghanistan.

According to an official letter from the German Defence Minister, Ursula von der Leyen, to the Federal Defence Committee, the decision was in consensus with the military hierarchy.

The government will call for a European-wide tender for the replacement of 167,000 G-36 rifles. The latter will be used “when appropriate”, as mentioned in the same letter, with some improvements. The procurement of the 600 H&K HK417 rifles and MG-4 light machine guns that was announced last month, is considered to be an interim solution until the deliveries of the new ones.

As for the G-36 rifles that will become obsolete, the government is considering either to store them or sell them to other countries or donate them as it did with the rifles given to the Kurdish fighters in the Middle East.

The G-36 trustworthiness case has become a source of political conflict in Germany. The Greens have raised allegations that employees of the Ministry of Defence had cozy contacts with the defence company and called for an investigation. The ministry has three commissions investigating the case along with its organizational structure and the results are expected in the next couple of months.

Analysis

It is worth mentioning that the call for a European-wide tender raises concerns over lack of trust between the state and the German defence company, which will take legal action to safeguard its reputation. Furthermore, the decision provides another hint for the government’s willingness for an effort to bolster its defence industry and consolidate it on a European level. It is the same context under which Krauss-Maffei Wegmann will merge with the French industry Nexter, resulting in one of the biggest defence industries in Europe and the world.