HK416-S assault rifles in the production hall of the weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch in Oberndorf
Image: dpa
The federal government had decided to place a major order with Heckler & Koch for 120,000 new assault rifles. The arms manufacturer Haenel, on the other hand, lodged a complaint – and has now suffered a defeat in court.
Dhe path to rearmament of the Bundeswehr with 120,000 assault rifles is clear. On Wednesday, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court rejected an appeal by the unsuccessful bidder, the Thuringian gunsmith CG Haenel. The federal government decided in 2021 to award the prestigious major contract to the Black Forest company Heckler & Koch. However, Haenel filed an appeal in order to be able to re-enter the bidding process. The Higher Regional Court was the final instance in the complaints procedure. The resolution makes it clear that the award decision remains in place.
The approval of the Bundestag is still missing for the final decision. It is considered almost certain. This is followed by contract negotiations and technical testing in the Bundeswehr. It should be at least two years before the first large batches are delivered to the troops.
The bidding process started in 2017. In 2020, the Federal Ministry of Defense surprisingly decided to give the order to the small company CG Haenel from Suhl in Thuringia. For the first time in six decades, the big competitor Heckler & Koch was no longer to provide the standard rifle for the troops. However, the federal government later backed down, threw Haenel out of the process and announced that they now wanted to award the contract to H&K. Haenel appealed, but failed before the Federal Cartel Office. The case then ended up before the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.
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