The news is that bad for Heckler & Koch. Previously, the German Defence Ministry raised concerns about the accuracy of the G36 when continuously fired in full-auto. But last Friday, the Bundeswehr Technical Team put out a report confirming the problem, but added that whole system is flawed.

If that is not bad news, I wonder what  is then when a whole army and other security organisations depend on the G36 as their primary weapon. 

When the testers mean by the whole system, then it is not only the about the composite material that holds the barrel in place that loosens up as the temperature rises when the rifle is fired in sustained rapid bursts. The rifle's accuracy fell 30% when temperature increase 30 degrees Celcius and accuracy differs by 35% between different munitions even with the best cartridges the differences can be seen.

You can read the highlights of the report at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The German Army have already put a hold on further purchases of the G36 pending investigation into its accuracy problems. With this new report from the Technical Team, then they might have to consider looking into another rifle, like the HK416.

A news report from Deutsche Welle, the Chief of Heckler & Koch,  Andreas Heeschen, defended the G36, saying that the German soldiers could completely depend of the rifle. He finds it unbelievable that after almost 20 years of service (the German Army have purchased over 176,000 G36 rifles from Heckler & Koch since 1996), one would then discover problems with the rifle.

The company said that they are willing to discuss changes with the rifle with the German Army and that they would seek legal recourse if the study wasn't done according to rules. This would probably mean that they want an independent investigation that will either confirm or debunk the investigation done by the German Army.