#Germany

3D printed guns made headlines earlier this year, especially when the 3D printed “Liberator” pistol design was released to the public by Defense Distributed. It sparked a debate as to whether plans for 3D printed guns such as the Liberator pistol should be available to the public. The State Department even requested that Defense Distributed take down their 3D printer files a few months back citing a violation of ITAR regulations.

The Bundeswehr plan on eventually buying more than 12,000 H&K121 (or MG5 as they will be known) for a up to $318 million. Visier reports that the budget committee of the Bundestag (parliament) has just approved funding to purchase 65 proof samples of the H&K 121 for testing and evaluation. The cost was $3.6 million (approx. $55,000 each) and includes including spare parts and tooling (and probably also training and support).

These are the last photos we have for you of the SIG Sauer Germany Prestige pistols. Enjoy.

The German government is investigating a German arms manufacturer, Ministry of Defense employees and Bundeswehr general staff for corruption regarding a recent rifle acquisition. Apparently this unspecified  rifle, which the media report as being an assault rifle (but they can’t be trusted to get gun facts correct), was procured despite technical studies finding it had serious deficiencies, including poor accuracy.

762PR Defence PR borrowed a Heckler & Koch G28, the Bundeswehr’s new Designated Marksman Rifle, from a local dealer for a photo shoot they were doing for one of their clients. The photos of are beautiful, as is the rifle …

Earlier this month the GSG-9, Germany’s famous elite counter-terrorism force, participated in a large scale joint exercise with Spezialeinsatzkommandos (SEK) squads from all over Germany. Eight hundred commandoes and 400 “hostages” participated in the exercise which lasted three days.

The German Spezialeinsatzkommandos, special response units similar to SWAT, are fielding the H&K MP7 fitted with a special stock designed to be used with full body armour including ballistic helmets/visors. The stock provides a solid shoulder weld without interfering with the operator’s helmet range of motion.

This beautiful sword gun is engraved all over in what looks like names of people. Maybe a family tree? It looks like it is Germanic in origin.

The Borchardt C-93 is a fascinating firearm. It is said to be the first semi-automatic pistol that was mass produced. Different sources give different numbers for how many were produced, but none that I have seen give a number greater than 3,000. A reader emailed us photos of one he had come across …

This photo was taken yesterday in Hamburg, Germany when the MEK (Mobiles Einsatzkommando / Mobile Tactical Squad) raided a bar after one patron killed another. What I find is interesting is a revolver being used by one of the leading officers. It is not often you see police using revolvers when MP5s and high-capacity semi-auto pistols are on hand.

Below are blueprints for the German MP 44 / StG 44 rifle. You can download them here. Does anyone know what it would cost to have these blueprints converted into a CAD model and animated, like this animation for example.

A German newspaper has revealed that a Bundeswehr report has said that once the H&K G36 rifle has heated up, the accuracy is significantly reduced to a point where it is useless beyond 200 meters (218 yards). These are pretty serious allegations!

I can barely contain my excitement! A german firm called Tactics Group will be producing a “tacti-cool” version of the German WWII Fallschirmjägergewehr 42 (Paratrooper Rifle 42) aka. FG-42. It will feature all the accessories found on modern rifles.

As the AR-15 platform grows in popularity around the world, more and more companies are manufacturing them. I recently heard about a German company called Oberland Arms who are manufacturing high-end AR-15 and AR-10 rifles in just about every conceivable configuration.

In January the German government banned H&K from exporting any firearms to Mexico after it was alleged that they exported guns to the state police of Chiapas, Chihuahua, Guerrero and Jalisco, all of which are considered criminal organizations by the German government. H&K claimed they only exported firearms to the Mexican Defense Ministry’s central firearm purchaser in Mexico City. Yesterday police raided the H&K headquarters as well as several private homes looking to evidence that H&K bribed Mexican officials. The local reports …