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SF battalion wants H & K 416 tech

An Army Special Forces battalion based in Okinawa intends to buy 84 Heckler & Koch 416 upper receiver kits to improve the reliability of their M4 carbines.

The acquisition notice, posted Friday on Federal Business Opportunities Web site, describes the 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group’s purchase in a letter of detailing the “justification for other than full and open competition.”

“Currently Heckler & Koch Defense Inc. is the only company that can meet the government’s needs,” the letter states. “H&K is the only company that manufactures the 416 Upper Receiver Kit.”

The kit allows soldiers to replace the existing M4 upper receiver with an HK proprietary gas system that “does not introduce propellant gases and the associated carbon fouling back into the weapon’s interior,” the unit said in the letter.

“This reduces operator cleaning time, and increases the reliability of the M4 carbine, particularly in an environment in which sand and dust are prevalent.”

The Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta — also known as Delta Force — has been carrying the 416 in combat since 2004.

Members of the elite unit linked up with German arms maker to fix what they believed were reliability flaws in the M4 carbine. H&K replaced the M4’s gas system with one that experts say significantly reduces malfunctions while increasing parts life.

For the foreseeable future, however, the conventional Army is sticking with the M4 and M16. The Army plans to buy about 100,000 M4s in fiscal 2008.

Background:

See the new H & K 416