[AARguy]

I wouldn't give H&K the time of day. They ripped off the military with their totally failed XM 29/25/8 fiasco. The XM 29 was originally the OICW (Objective Infantry Combat Weapon) that fired a 25mm airburst-fused grenade and a something-between 5.56 and 308 round. Millions were spent in development and testing. Then it was too heavy, so they went to 5.56. More millions spent in development and testing. Then it was STILL too heavy so they went to a 20mm grenade. More millions in development and testing. Well, the grenade's fuse was so complex and that it took up most of the space in the 20mm round and there wasn't much left for the bang part. More millions in development and testing. Then, again, it was too heavy. So the program broke down into two separate weapons, the XM25 for the grenade launcher and the XM8 for the 5.56 bullet launcher. More millions for development and test. And of course the separation of the bullet launcher and the grenade launcher loused up the basic requirement for ONE weapon to perform both functions. We were back to the Vietnam-era problem of M79 versus M16 which gave birth to the whole idea of an OICW. But H&K hucksters ("lobbyists") kept the program alive, even to the point of breaking ground for a huge factory in Columbus, GA outside of Ft Benning. H&K kept the money pit alive even as the program swirled in the bowl. It was despicable. The program finally died and it was back to the drawing boiards for a Future Force Warrior "lethality module".

One would think that the millions of dollars H&K wasted might have at least been used to learn lessons or develop some technologies that might have been used in follow up programs to the benefit of the US military. But when the SCAR (Special Operaions Combat Assault Rifle) program was announced and competed, H&K didn't even bother to bid. FN won the program for 50,000 rifles. The millions spent on H&K remain wasted.

As an American, I have nothing for H&K but a hard time.