G26 for Feldjäger and KSK

The German police and special forces are looking for successors rifle H & K G36. New weapons will receive the designate G26, and its choice is to take place in late 2012.


5.56-mm rifle H & K HK416D145RS (standard armament in the Polish Special Forces) in the hands of Polish special unit soldier JW Agat. This design has the best chance of competing at the G26 - a new weapon for the military police and commandos of Feldjäger of Kommando Spezialkräfte.

May 8, 1995, after the victory in comparative tests with the Austrian Steyr AUG, 5.56-mm rifle H & K HK50 was admitted to arming the Bundeswehr as the G36. December 3, 1997 ordered the first batch of weapons, along with a 9-mm pistol H & K P8, was solemnly given to the soldiers, airmen and sailors, signifying a symbolic farewell to the so far used 7.62-mm rifle H & K G3.

New in the G36 was the extensive use of plastics: the castle chamber and trigger, stock, transport bed, and grip are made by injection molding of durable polyamide, reinforced with carbon fiber. G36 is the second after the Steyr AUG rifle weapon of mass-produced plastic castle chamber, which in addition is not reinforced by any steel parts, after which the mobile unit moves.

5.56-mm rifle G36 remains the weapon of the individual German soldier. When he was occasionally used by the recruits in Germany did not cause any problems, but several years of intensive use of structures in the missions (including the ISAF in Afghanistan) revealed a defect of arms.

Almost a decade rifle was used in a temperate climate in Germany by military service, running a little and within well-defined scenario exercises. Information from members of the United States, who extensively tested the G36 fired several magazines at once, about the problems with the impact of hot, cast steel chamber on a plastic barrel of the castle, leading to its deformation, and thus losing sight settings, passed over in silence. However, the manufacturer introduced the first in subkarabinkach G36K, G36C and later aluminum shell inside a plastic substrate.

Disadvantages arise from the G36 rifle modular design: very stable connection of the plastic and metal, which are subjected to pressure and influence of high temperatures cause a decrease in accuracy of weapons.

As the number of foreign operations, which was involved in the Bundeswehr, including missions in countries with hot climates, reports of problems with basic equipment to individual German soldier began to intensify. Special Forces commandos, who from the rest of the troops very often shoot in different conditions, were the first to discover the faults G36. These resulted in their opinion, the modular design of the weapon (plastic parts connected by iron rods) and the materials used.

One of the main drawbacks for which it was pointed out, was too low rigidity of the plastic enclosure of the castle. Its structure was further hampered by a large window cut in the upper part, which moves back suwadła of placed there, pivotally mounted handle tension. The sight bracket is attached to the castle chambers in two places, on both sides of the notches, which moves the movable element, while the front is in contact with cast steel barrel.

The problems with the G36 rifle first reported by German commandos, shooting the most. Partially solved the problems with rigid base and the castle chambers by placing aluminum assembly mounting rails produced by the American KAC and rigid support rail of the chamber of the castle.

Special Forces soldiers also emphasize that many problems arise from a combination of a long bed of G36 with the chamber in the castle just two points and in the rear upper and lower parts. If the shooter is aware that different grip weapons will result in another point repeatedly hit and will always keep the same rifle, will have no problem with hitting. If, however, changed after each shot position your hands on the bed, the item will be otherwise deformed, and thus will have an impact on other points of connection to the castle chamber, resulting in deterioration of accuracy.

HK416 has become the informal symbol of the distinctive commandos, and not only Polish. The weapon is also used by the Americans, French, Norwegians and other countries. For several years, more than a hundred HK416 barrels of different lengths are tested by the commandos of the KSK.

Very soon they discovered the defect G36 commandos formed in 1996, a special unit Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK). They ordered in the U.S. in Knight's Aramament Co. (KAC) special, made of aluminum alloy bed with a set of mounting rails with a much higher stiffness. In addition, the polymer transport handle made of plastic with integrated Flags standard G36 was replaced by low aluminum bracket located on the back of the universal mounting rail. Partially solve the problem of rigidity of the chamber.


Solid Schmeisser AR15 rifle and a castle with a monolithic chamber, a piston gas system and the reinforcement of the flask. The weapon was created for the German police and is tested at WTD91 Meppen.

Another problem occurred during training, one of the airborne troops. After completion of the exercise, G36 rifles were left for several hours on the ground, partly based on the flask and made up one side exposed to the intense sunlight. Once you start shooting, it turned out that most of them there is deviation from the impact point in the same direction. It turned out that the material of lower thermal expansion, and thus theoretically more resistant to heat, in fact, strongly deformed at points of connections of steel and plastic.


Comparative tests with the G36 HK416D, SCAR-L, AR15 Solid I / II and SIG516 in WTD91 in Meppen showed that after firing four magazines full of fire, continuous average hit point changes by 1200 mm at 100 m Thus, for several years German special forces had suggested the introduction of the rifle H & K G36 modified to eliminate the problems - the castle chambers suggested replacing the plastic component of aluminum - or replace it by new construction.

Rifle FN SCAR-L STD of 368-mm barrel, which was reported to compete in the new G26. It is the only weapon that does not rely on AR-15/M16 design, and its presence reflects a strong commitment to the distributor FN Herstal in the German market.


At the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century to the KSK as a weapons test went over 100 H & K rifles HK416D in varieties with different barrel lengths. Weapons tested for a few years, currently in Afghanistan, and so far there is no indication that the tests commandos were to end quickly. In the meantime, military police (Feldjäger), have requested a weapon with a  monolithic chamber, castle made ​​of other elements than the plastic material of the piston gas system . This idea quickly picked up the German army and forced a special exploration of new design launch arms, which would replace the small G36.

It is interesting that the new weapons are demanding only the commandos, but also special units of military police (pictured Feldjäger in Afghanistan). Their representatives said that they were looking not so much a new automatic rifle, but rather the precision 5.56 mm caliber weapon to shoot at close distances, the accuracy can be assured .


Thus, in early 2011 started a program that will lead to the adoption of the structure, known as G26. To disguise it from the public and divert attention from problems with the primary individual weapons of the German army, officially the Germans are looking for is not the successor to the G36 in units of police and special forces, but a new short-range precision weapons to ammunition 5.56 mm x 45 NATO . In addition, given the assumptions that the manipulators were very similar or the same as in the case of the recent adoption of the 7.62-mm weapons sniper rifle G28.

Since the spring of 2011 is underway in Germany, research and test center Wehrtechnischen Dienststelle (WTD) 91 study four proposals put forward as rifles: FN SCAR-L STD, H & K HK416D145RS, Schmeisser AR15 solid I / solid II ( Back Schmeisser , 2010-06-17 ) and the SIG-Sauer SIG516. Each of the manufacturers supplied the sample of 12 pieces of each type. Attempts to four construction to be completed in October 2012. All delivered to the test models are WTD91 barrel length 368 mm (14.5 inches), which clearly shows that not accurate in terms of weapons and military police commandos.

SIG516 a piston AR-15 variant developed over several years by the SIG-Sauer mainly the U.S. market. However, the manufacturer of this strong position in Germany, as a supplier of rifles over the years SG55x for special police units.

Besides STD FN SCAR rifle, all other models are AR-15/M16 clones. The presence in the Belgian construction group may be surprising, but the explanation is to change the FN Herstal distributor in Germany. The new sales representative, using skillful marketing policy and ensuring rapid delivery times, even small batches of rifles and the equally rapid service, quickly gained a strong position on the German market. With the amendment of several hundred FN SCAR distributor went to different police special forces SEK (Spezialeinsatzkommando) and MEK (Mobile Einsatzkommandos) in place of the old G3, G36, SIG-Sauer SG55x or Steyr AUG.

KSK has slightly different requirements than the police, so the competition involved two models Schmeisser AR15: Solid and monolithic chamber of the castle and a separate bed of solid II, which can be removed for cleaning the barrel. It was obvious that in this way would promote HK416D rangers.

While the police wished to actually monolithic castle chambers for their rifles (hence in the case of Schmeisser introduction to the AR15 rifle tests Solid I), whereas with the KSK commandos requested follow-up ways to clean the barrel from the outside, thus dismantling the front of the mounting rails. This is undoubtedly a nod to the Oberndorfu HK416D rifle, but very quickly it offered such a weapon as AR15 Schmeisser Solid II. It is difficult to determine who wins the competition rifle, but so far the army, but tested a different weapon, he always opted for the models produced by Heckler & Koch. Thus, it appears that the most likely to be admitted to arming the G26 has HK416D145RS. Weapons will be offered in the same natural color as the G28.