According to a report, the German soldiers’ new assault rifle does not meet the agreed requirements. The procurement office is said to have weakened quality tests – at the request of the manufacturer.
According to media reports, the Federal Audit Office has questioned the precision capability of the new G95A1 assault rifle for the Bundeswehr. “The Bundeswehr needs an assault rifle that hits with sufficient precision under real conditions with the combat ammunition introduced,” the auditors wrote in a confidential report to the Bundestag on Friday, according to the “Bild” newspaper. The Bundeswehr’s procurement office for the assault rifle “can no longer ensure this due to a change agreement with the weapon manufacturer.”
Now it is unclear whether the procurement office made mistakes in testing the new assault rifle. The G95A1 was to become the new standard rifle for all 180,000 soldiers. According to the “Bild” report, a rifle costs 2,200 euros. In addition, there would be 1,200 euros for the optics and a light laser module for 1,650 euros.
Current investigations by the Bundeswehr under laboratory conditions showed that the assault rifle “does not meet the users’ precision requirements with the combat ammunition introduced,” the report continues, according to “Bild”. “However, this is achieved with civilian precision ammunition.”
Insufficient proof of accuracy
The background to this is the Bundeswehr’s procurement office’s insufficient obligation to provide evidence of accuracy. These were weakened in an amendment agreement after the contract was concluded.
The “Spiegel”, citing the same Court of Auditors report, reports that the manufacturer Heckler & Koch contacted the procurement office in autumn 2022 with a request to be allowed to carry out the firing tests with special civilian ammunition and not with the combat ammunition commonly used by the Bundeswehr. Accordingly, the weapons company also wanted to take more breaks between bursts of fire.
Disadvantage for the Bundeswehr
According to the “Bild” newspaper, the industry is now allowed to use a sniper scope as a result of the weakening in the tests. In addition, the NATO shooting buck can be exchanged for a manufacturer’s own precision shooting buck.
The now permissible laboratory conditions and the “civilian precision ammunition” do not allow “realistic proof of the precision of the system,” the “Bild” newspaper quotes from the Court of Auditors’ report.
The “Spiegel” quotes from the document that the subsequently changed requirements for firing tests with the rifle “no longer ensure that the troops’ precision requirements are met.” By weakening the requirements, the procurement office has “simplified the weapons manufacturer’s obligations to provide evidence to the detriment of the Bundeswehr.”
However, according to the “Spiegel” report, it is difficult to say whether the rifle is actually less precise. The rifle has been in use for several years in the elite Special Forces Command (KSK), the Rapid Forces Division (DSK) and other armies – without any complaints.
