HK wins $29 million contract for more M27 rifles to Marine Corps

By Chris Eger

The Marines are looking to field as many as 15,000 more M27 IARs by 2023. (Photo: U.S. Marine Corps)
Heckler & Koch Defense, the domestic subsidiary of German gun maker HK last week secured a large contract for M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle systems for the U.S. Marine Corps.
The M27, a select-fire variant of the HK416 5.56mm gas piston rifle, has been used in small quantities by the Marines for the past decade to replace some M249 Squad Automatic Weapons. The new contract, announced by Marine Corps Systems Command on Friday, allows for $29.4 million for a maximum 15,000 M27 systems and spare parts to be delivered by 2023.
The contract specifies that the lion’s share of the work on the platforms will be completed in Oberndorf, Germany with about 30 percent split between U.S.-based facilities in Columbus, Georgia and Ashburn, Virginia. HK earlier this year announced the Georgia expansion to include a new 50,000 square-foot manufacturing plant.
Citing commonality and interchangeability with existing platforms, the M27’s weight advantage over the M249, and the belief that pursuing a contract with any other maker besides Heckler & Koch would mean four years before the Corps received the additional weapons, the Marines decided to use HK

Source: Guns.com