Heckler and Koch vindicated in G36 accuracy row, but lobbying concerns linger

[unhappycamper]

http://www.dw.com/en/heckler-and-koch-vindicated-in-g36-accuracy-row-but-lobbying-concerns-linger/a-18781312

Bundeswehr soldiers have lauded, in a new government report, the accuracy of the Heckler & Koch G36 rifle. But there are still plenty of questions over the German gunmaker's ties to the government.

Heckler and Koch vindicated in G36 accuracy row, but lobbying concerns linger
Ben Knight
14.10.2015

Even the good days for Heckler & Koch turn out bad. On the same day that the German gunmaker's G36 assault rifle, the standard weapon of the German military, received a glowing report from one government commission, another slammed the "intolerable" close relations between the manufacturer and the army's equipment authority, and hinted at (but did not prove) improper lobbying.

The German Defense Ministry commissioned three separate reports into the G36, following revelations that the gun lost accuracy when heated up - either in hot weather or through sustained use - and that the company may have influenced the government to ensure that the rifle would still be used by the army.

One of these commissions released its results on Wednesday, and while it vindicated the company, the details of another internal Defense Ministry report were considerably less enthusiastic.

~snip~

The 'protective hand'

The fact that this clique exists was made clear in late September, when another ARD investigation found that defense ministry officials helped H&K get around the government export controls in what turned out to be the illegal sale of thousands of G36s to the Mexican government. H&K's headquarters were raided by Stuttgart prosecutors in 2011 over that deal.

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That 'illegal sale of thousands of G36s to the Mexican government'? H&K donated weapons to the CIA's weapons sting program.

Unfortunately the CIA lost track of the weapons. To quote Rick Perry: 'Oops.'