In 2015, the fate of the G-36 assault rifle as the main weapon of the Bundeswehr was decided - the Minister of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany Ursula von der Leyen made a fundamental decision to purchase new weapons. The official competition will be announced within six months, new machines will be purchased from 2020 and will completely replace the G-36 in the German armed forces by 2026.
So far, according to rumors, the German company Henel in cooperation with Caracal with a CAR 816 rifle, Rheinmetall in cooperation with Steyr-Manllicher with an RS556 rifle, Schmeisser with its own version M4, Israeli IWI with Tavor X95 assault rifle, Canadian Diemaco with C8SFW rifle, American company LWRCI with M6-G rifle, Swiss SIG, B&T and Swiss Arms with SIG MCX, APC556 and SG 553, French Thales with F90 (licensed copy of AUG), Italian "Beretta" with ARX-160, Czech Ceska Zbrojovka with BREN 2, Belgians from FN Herstal with FN SCAR-L and Polish FB "Łucznik" Radom with Radom MSBS.
As for the competitors, until recently it seemed that Heckler & Koch would present its already well-known assault rifle HK416 at the competition. Moreover, a certain German federal agency has already purchased this weapon under the designation G38. And of the latest successes, the official choice of the HK416 as the new main machine gun of the French armed forces can be noted. But there were rumors that a well-made HK416 was too expensive for the Bundeswehr and it was decided to make a new rifle.
All the more surprising was the announcement on February 3 of a completely new assault rifle from Heckler & Koch - the HK433. It is definitely the novelty that will be proposed for the competition for a new machine gun for the Bundeswehr. This is evidenced by many nuances, first of all - the great similarity of the HK433 in terms of ergonomics with the old G-36, which will allow you to quickly retrain personnel familiar with old weapons, without resorting to retraining in ergonomics in the "AR style" - which is important for the mass armed forces …
What is the new weapon? Heckler & Koch itself called the HK433 a hybrid of the best qualities of the G36 and HK416. Nevertheless, the new assault rifle lacks the main distinguishing feature of the G-36 - the abundance of plastic in the design, which served as the basis for criticism about excessive overheating when firing in hot areas and a corresponding deterioration in accuracy. Therefore, the new HK433 is made mainly of high-strength aluminum alloy, which is assembled into two structural elements, which are known in the west as the "lower" and "upper". "Upper" and "lover" are also translated as the lower and upper parts of the receiver, to which all other elements of the weapon are attached.
And although the lover of the new assault rifle is very similar to the standard lovers for the AR-15, this is not the case - it can be noted that the butt is not attached to it. In addition, the stock became folding - the main distinguishing feature of the HK433 from the HK416, which inherited from the AR-15 a non-folding stock with a return spring buffer inside. The new HK433 polymer folding stock features a telescopic design (5 length adjustments), a height-adjustable cheek piece and interchangeable butt pad.
The butt folds to the right, and allows you to shoot and operate the trigger elements without interference. By the way, the controls (including the magazine latch) on the "love" can be both AR-15 and G-36 types, and the magazine shaft can accept both NATO standard magazines and standard G-36 magazines.
The automatics of the new machine are gas operated, with a short stroke of the gas piston, and have their roots in the AR-18. At the same time, the shutter closes the ejection window of spent cartridges and protects against dirt from entering the receiver - like in the G-36, but the handle does not move during firing - a noticeable difference. But, as in the previous German assault rifle, the position of the bolt handle can be adjusted for both right-handed and left-handed users.
Heckler & Koch offers 6 types of easily interchangeable barrels for the HK433, 20 (503mm), 18.9 (480mm), 16.5 (421mm), 14.5 (368mm), 12.5 (318mm) and 11 (280mm) inches long. That is, the assault rifle is completely modular, with various types of barrel, it can perform the tasks of both a full-size assault rifle and a carbine, a small assault rifle, a light machine gun or a "Marksman rifle" (DMR). The barrels are cold forged and chrome plated for above average accuracy and accuracy. The receiver unit is equipped with an adjustable gas outlet - which is convenient for use with a silencer. At the same time, the barrels themselves are firmly attached to the “aper”, on which a “picatinny” bar is installed monolithically and over its entire length - while changing the “apper” with the barrel and mounted and aimed optics will not affect the rifle's combat. Standard folding mechanical sighting devices are mounted on this bar.
The forend can be made both in the form of the Keymod and M-lok interface and allows you to install any pads and strips at the request of the shooter, while another "picatinny" strip is located at the bottom, and allows you to install the M320 underbarrel grenade launcher manufactured by H&K.
Finally, a rather specific offer from H&K can be noted - an optional installation in the receiver of a special wireless "shot counter" that works using RFID technology and does not require leaving the owner - this counter is needed primarily for the army weapons service to calculate the barrel resource and repair weapons …
With all this, an empty machine gun with a standard barrel 421mm long weighs no more than 3.5kg. A family of unified models for calibers 7.62x39 and 300 Blackout (HK123) and 7.62x51 (HK231) is also offered.
Time will show how well the new weapon will show itself in the upcoming tender for a new assault rifle for the Bundeswehr.
