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„… auf dieser Grundlage ist für mich der Schluss, dass das G36 in der heutigen Konstruktion keine Zukunft in der Bundeswehr hat …“ This sentence from the then Defense Minister Dr. med. Ursula von der Leyen sealed the plan to replace the Bundeswehr's G36 assault rifle.

The precision deficits of the G36 under special thermal conditions, which have been publicly discussed since 2011, formed the basis for the intensive investigations of the G36 by institutions inside and outside the Bundeswehr. The results of these investigations were summarized in a final report in 2015 and presented to parliament by the then Defense Minister. Essentially, it was found that

  • the G36 met the requirements of the technical delivery conditions and therefore had no defects,
  • the weapons are characterized by high reliability and
  • Extreme thermal loads (particularly gunshot-induced heating with certain types of ammunition and external temperature changes) lead to precision limitations.

It can be seen that the G36 has had to prove itself in a wide variety of demands and operating conditions over the last 30 years since the requirement to replace the G3 was created.

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Chronology of the G36 and the planned successor

From the end of the Cold War to foreign missions to secure peace to alliance and national defense, all conceivable scenarios must be considered.

In order to meet the high and changing requirements, the G36 has been continuously developed. Construction levels A0 to A4 were created in the “long tube” (19 inch tube length) and “short tube” (12.5 inch tube length) designs, which is indicated by the suffix “K”.

Introduction of the new introduction and replacement of the G36

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Selection of Bundeswehr missions

With the decision to replace the G36, it was necessary to procure an assault rifle that was available on the market and that met the requirements in all current scenarios (national and alliance defense).

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