German special forces test new assault rifles at YPG
The German army has decided to get rid of the assault rifle its special forces have been using the past 20 years. Several of the country’s elite soldiers have been at Yuma Proving Ground, testing the new HK416 A7 assault rifle, which has been chosen to replace it.
The new assault rifle, which will be designated the G95K, replaces the long-serving G36K as the standard weapon for the German special forces. Made by Heckler & Koch, it fires a 5.56 mm x 45 NATO round, has a 14.5 inch-long barrel, and weighs a bit over 8 pounds.
Luis Arroyo, chief of YPG’s Training and Management Office, said the purpose of the test conducted Friday at the Graze Rifle Range was to get input from the special forces soldiers who would be using the weapon.
“It is a derivative of the M-16 and M-4 class of combat rifles the U.S. military uses,” Arroyo said. “This rifle has already gone through all of the technical
testing, so this is a subjective test based on the opinions of the actual operator.”
Arroyo explained that while the rifle may perform well and do everything the soldiers need it to do, they are also making sure it doesn’t interfere with any of the other equipment they use, such as
their helmets, body armor and eye protection.
“The rifle could be spoton, 100 percent great, but if it interferes with some of the other things they use, it could lead to making changes with that other equipment,” Arroyo said.
The soldiers also wanted to verify the gun’s muzzle velocity and bullet trajectory, Arroyo said, so YPG set up a 120- watt radar truck at the site to track the bullets
that are fired and record the data.
“We typically use the radar to track artillery, mortars and other large rounds, so it is asking a lot of the operator because the bullet is so small and fast,” Arroyo said. “The radar operator really has to be on his game because the bullet is the size of an eraser on a pencil.”
Lastly, the soldiers also wanted to see how the new
gun handled in a natural hot climate, with Arroyo saying YPG met their needs for this.
The new gun wasn’t the only equipment the German army was testing at YPG. It is also there to test night vision goggles the country’s military is considering purchasing.
If all goes well, the new G95K is expected to be in use by German special forces sometime in early 2019.