Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles ARMY PICKS H&K FOR SNIPER RIFLE, MARINES GO BACK TO CLEANING RODS

The U.S. Army has selected Heckler & Koch to replace their well-worn inventory of M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System (SASS) rifles. At the same time, the Marines are rolling back the clock when it comes to cleaning rifles: they’re going from pull-through kits back to cleaning rods.

The hunt for an improved Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System (CSASS) began in 2012. The program’s goals included finding a reduced weight, reduced length rifle with improved accuracy and reliability. One of the CSASS program’s concerns was rifle reliability and longevity in extreme environments where abrasive sand and dust pose a real threat to rifle performance.

Details including what rifle and accessory package was selected for the role have not been released, but it stands to reason that it’s the HK417 or a variant. Heckler & Koch 417-based semi-automatic sniper and designated marksman rifles serve with armed forces all around the world including the German Bundeswehr and the British SAS.

It’s also possible that the Heckler & Koch developed an Army-specific rifle to compete for the CSASS contract. Part of the updated solicitation included an upgrade path for existing SASS rifles still in inventory, so the winning design could be a hybrid Knights’s Armament/Heckler & Koch rifle.

The completed solicitation also clearly states that not one but two rifles have been accepted for the CSASS program. This could allow for both new rifles and upgraded guns built on SASS components or completely different rifles for different roles as required by the CSASS agenda.

No matter what rifles wind up replacing the SASS, the CSASS contract is a big win for Heckler & Koch. The two-year, fixed firm price contract worth up to $44.5 million to build a maximum total of 3,643 CSASS packages.

The main option includes instructor and key personnel training, spare parts and depot support. There is a second option for acquiring the technical detail package, or TDP, as well.

While the Army is looking for new solutions, the Marines are going back to an old fix–a Vietnam-era fix. The Marines are beginning to phase out newer pull-through cleaning kits in favor of simpler rod-and-brush kits.

“Quite frankly, they don’t work as well as the old rods we had that you just screw together,” said Col. Tim Parker, commander of Weapons Training Battalion to the Marine Corps Times. “This is what the fleet was telling us, so we said ‘All right, we tried a good idea — now let’s go back to the original one.’”

What the Marine Corps found is that specialized cleaning tools in the newer kits are easily lost and not used, and in turn, rifle maintenance suffers. The rods are better at scrubbing off fouling and can be used to clear a stuck case quickly and easily.

It doesn’t hurt that the rod kits are a lot less expensive. A basic rod cleaning kit costs about $20 where a premium Otis soft pack kit can cost close to $100. The original rod kits were made to store in the buttstock compartment of M16 rifles.

No doubt that the 110 is a heavy, massive beast but they'll not get what they want from HK, they'll get what the Germans want them to have.

Be better off working off the 110A2 platform & modd'ing as desired, IMO, if their real goal is a semi LR rifle of some sort short of a genuine BA rifle.

MM

Did you write that, or just copy/paste from an article? If copy/paste, you should give credit to the original author somehow, at least mentioning the source, instead of posting it as your own.

I thought the U.S. Government had to purchase from U.S. made Companies?

Don't take it out of context. Correct me if wrong, but Army doctrine has the M2010 300mag as the sniper weapon with the M110 being used for support and urban duties. Army now wants the spotter to have a support weapon that can also double for close quarters, which the M110 was never designed to perform. Hence, the desire for a new support rifle for the team which works more like a glorified designated marksman rifle, being COMPACT. So this is where the new compact rifle fits into the picture. A new bread of DM rifle to support the sniper.

Also, the M110 does not have a forward assist, it is standard operating procedure to use a cleaning rod to push the bolt carrier group forward when the operator needs to stealth-fully chamber a round. So that and several other chores make a cleaning rod rather useful beyond just cleaning.

All of this is the continued improvements on such platforms fathered by Stoner. Great leaps and bounds over the last decade or so in these weapon systems.

O I forgot Obama wrote the article

funny, one has to wonder at the selection process, Knight must not have been in the running I guess?

I don't think they liked knights that much. The rediculous thing is an American company could not come up with a winner. It's a frighten ar 10. That is unique by its parts. It's a wonder the army doesn't just pick the parts they want and build thes themselves

Jimmy,

KAC had a rifle that competed. Lots of companies did. There were specs- some didn't meet reliability and some didn't meet accuracy. HK won.


It's well past time that conventional Army snipers had a portable 16in 7.62 gas gun.








jesus titty christ

I handled the HK yesterday at a gun store in McDonough GA, the rifle seemed to me to be "lighter" than my Ruger SR762 but I am not 100% sure as I have not picked up the Ruger in a while, it did balance very well I liked the stock they had on it a lot. I was more than impressed with the gun, fit and finish were very good and I just liked it for some reason. I was even more impressed by the price of $3999.00 but for a person that wanted a "once and done" deal to buy a gas 308 this looks like a great option. Were I to buy another 308 this would be the one, to my tastes it beats the SCAR17 just due to familiarity factor. I asked if they would consider a trade for a DPMS oracle along with a keltec P3AT and they escorted me to the door! .

I agree 100%

I shot Knight's 16" version of their M110 a number of years back, and discussed the fact while at Knights, that it was exactly what was needed for the typical missions that were being conducted in the M.E., to include PSD.

Couple the shorter rifles with optics that are actually reliable, and track properly will make for a system that has long been needed. Guys in the field have seen some pretty significant improvements in the quality of gear in the last few years, for sure.

I was one of the shooters that validated the final contestants last summer. As far as I'm tracking we are still under NDA so I won't say much but sometimes the Army gets one right.

what if any optics were chosen and mount if anyone knows? The one I saw had a big Zeiss Victory on it but I am thinking this was NOT what the Army selected.

How much have you had to drink?