The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a German submachine gun developed by Tilo Moller, Manfred Guring, Georg Seidl and Helmuit Baureuter during the 1960s. It is manufactured by Heckler & Koch and is service as of date with armed forces and law enforcement agencies in over 40 different countries.

The H & K MP5 represents the zenith of submachine gun design. It shares most of its functional characteristics with other assault rifles manufactured by H & K. It is chambered for the 9x19mm Parabellum round and feeds from a 15 or 30-round curved magazine. It is accurate up to 150 meters.The MP5A3 is a variant of the MP5 and has a foldable metal stock. The MP5’s design is quite modern looking even though the weapon was designed in 1965. Subsequently, other variants of the MP5 have also been designed incorporating several changes. Modern MP5s can fire about 800 rounds per minute and fire in bursts or fully automatic mode.

The Heckler & Koch MP5 is very popular with Special Forces and counter-terrorist squads because of its effectiveness in close ranges. The MP5 was famously deployed during the Iranian Embassy Siege in London in 1980.

When compared to other weapons of its class, the H & K MP5 is very expensive and because of this reason, it has not entered mainstream service with armed forces. However, it remains the favourite weapon of choice for Special Forces and counter-terrorism units.

The Heckler & Koch CAWS is a bullpup automatic shotgun designed by Heckler & Koch in collaboration with Winchester/Olin in 1980s. “CAWS” stands for “Close Assault Weapon System”. In the later years the CAWS project was canceled.

The development of the CAWS started in the early 1980s with the aim of created the next generation personal firearm. The CAWS was intended to have high power firing capabilities and an effective range of 100 to 150 meters. Heckler & Koch developed the weapon while Winchester/Olin was responsible for designed the ammunition.

The design of the CAWS draws heavily from the earlier G11. The CAWS feeds from a 10-round magazine. Each round contains 20 flechettes or 8 tungsten alloy pellets. The shotgun also comes equipped with telescopic optics. One of the interesting features of the CAWS is its very light recoil.

The CAWS project has been cancelled and remains only a demonstrator project. However, it shows the level to which a shotgun can be taken. It displays how a single gun can be used to fire different ammunition types. By changing the magazine in a near futuristic shotgun, it may be possible to fire miniature grenades, penetrating rounds or standard anti-personnel ammunition. A shotgun of this capability will definitely find market in the very near future.

The Heckler & Koch G11 is an experimental bullpup rifle on the 1970s and 80s. The design of the G11 is highly unconventional. It is also notable for its use of case-less 4.7x33mm ammunition. Since it uses case-less ammunition, it doesn't have an ejection mechanism as the all the contents of the chamber are ejected out of the barrel when the ammunition charge is ignited.

The G11’s ammunition consists of a block of propellant and the bullet embedded into it. Since, the weapon doesn’t have an ejection mechanism its reliability is significantly increased. It may be noted that most weapons malfunction because of problems with the ejection system. In addition, the smaller round of the G11 also means that more ammunition can be carried without adding extra weight.

The G11 can fire both in automatic mode and also in a three-burst mode. In the three-burst mode, all the three rounds are ejected simultaneously one after another in a single recoil cycle. This gives the weapon a superb firing rate of 2200 rounds per minute.

The G11 is accurate up to 500 meters. It also comes with an optical scope for better accuracy. Its bullpup design and advanced construction make the weapon very small and light-weight.

One of the main problems encountered during the design and testing of the G11 was the issue of ammunition “cooking-off”. In a normal rifle, the ammunition casing absorbs most of the heat generated by the propellant. Subsequently, as the casing gets ejected the chamber doesn’t heat up and so the next round that enters the chamber doesn’t “cook off” until the igniting pin hits it. However, in the case of the G11, since there is no casing, the chamber heats up causing the next round to cook off as soon as it enters the chamber. The problem of ammunition “cooking off” was solved by created a new type of propellant that had a higher ignition temperature.

Though the G11 proved to be an engineering challenge to its designers, it was nevertheless a successful weapon at least design wise. However, it was not adopted by any mainstream, service due to its high manufacturing costs. Nevertheless, its design easily outshines other conventional rifles.

The Heckler & Koch G36 is a German assault rifle chambered for the 5.56x45mm NATO round. It was designed by Heckler & Koch in the early 1990s and adopted by the German Armed Forces in 1997. It replaced the older G3 battle rifle from the Army’s inventory.

The H & K G3 was very reliable and many variants were developed based on its design. These variants ranged from full-sized rifles to submachine guns. The G36 is also based on the G3 and uses a similar receiver design. However, it doesn’t use the roller-locking delayed blowback mechanism of the G3 and instead operated on gas. The rifle is designed for use mainly as a light support weapon.

The G36 has been the basis of several variants. For example: The G36K—a carbine version of the G36 and the G36C—a smaller variant designed for use in close-quarter combat. The G36 and its variants are made from a number of high-quality polymers. The receiver housing, stock, magazine well and the carry handle are made of reinforced polyamine carbon fibre.

The G36 can also be fitted with a grenade-launcher for additional utility in the field. With the rifle spare magazines, a maintenance kit, a speed loading kit and a AK-47 style bayonet are issued.

The G36 is currently being used by a number of countries across the world. Some of these include Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Norway, Romania, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States. The United States Safety and Security Service also employs the H & K G36.

The Heckler & Koch PSG1 is a sniper rifle developed by Heckler & Koch in Germany. PSG stands for “Prazisionsscharfschutzengewehr” which means “precision sharpshooter rifle” in German.

The PSG1 was designed in response to the West German Police Force’s failure during the 1972 Summer Olympics incident. The Police failed to kill the terrorists fast enough and all the hostages were killed. Heckler & Koch was then approached to design a highly accurate, semiautomatic sniper rifle for military and police use.

The PSG1 is chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge and feeds using a 5 or 20-round detachable box magazine. It has an effective range of 800 meters. Overall the gun weighs 7.2 Kg.

The rifle features high-quality aiming optics. It is mounted with the Hensoldt 6x42 scope. The aiming optical scope has an inbuilt range adjuster which allows the scope to be tuned from 100 to 600 meters.

The barrel of the rifle is very heavy. The stock is made from high-strength polymer and can be adjusted to suit the firer’s profile. In addition, the rifle also comes with a vertically-adjustable cheek piece.

One of disadvantages of the PSG1 is that it is difficult to reload. In addition, the spent case of the bullet is also ejected with a lot of force which causes it to travel distances up to 10 meters or so. Though, this is not an issue in police combat, it can reveal the position of the sniper in the field, thus making him/her an easy target.

The Heckler & Koch PSG1 is very costly to produce and retails at a high price of $15,000 to $20,000. There are fewer than 400 units of the PSG1 in the United States due to import regulations and the high price tag. In Germany, the PSG1 is used by the Spezialeinsatzkommando.

The Heckler & Koch G3 is a battle rifle developed by Heckler & Koch in the 1950s. It is chambered for the 7.62mm NATO round and is used by several countries. Numerous variants of the G3 have also been developed.

The G3 is based on delayed-blowback system. During the 1940s, Mauser developed a new delayed-blowback system that made use of rollers to slow down the movement of the bolt until gas pressures drop to safe levels. Several guns were designed based on this design. The G3 was the most successful of these designs.

Though the G3 didn’t achieve the name and fame of the AK-47 or the M16, nevertheless, it is a popular weapon with more than 50 countries adopting it. It also played a pivotal role in the design of several other weapons.

The G3 was chambered for the 7.62mm NATO round which at that time was being replaced with the 5.56mm round. This was one of the reasons why the G3 never caught up. Experimental versions of the G3 chambered for the smaller calibre were developed. However they never caught on.

Despite the lack of widespread acceptance, the Heckler & Koch G3 is an honorary combat weapon. It truly deserves recognition as a seminal assault rifle.

The Heckler & Koch P7 is a semiautomatic pistol designed in West Germany by Helmut Weldle. It was designed in 1977 and production began from 1979 and continued till 2007. The need for a better weapon arose after the 1972 Summer Olympics incident. Subsequently, three different pistols were considered: The SIG-Sauer P225, the P7 and the Walther P5. However, the P7 was ultimately selected and production was started in the year 1979. It was adopted by the German Army’s Special Forces and by the GCG 9 (Federal Police’s counter terrorism unit).

Initially, the P7 was manufactured only by Heckler & Koch. However, subsequently in was also license manufactured in Greece by the Hellenic Arms Industry and in Mexico by DIM. The P7 was also exported to several other countries.Several variants of the P7 have been designed. These include:>> P7PT8: This version was designed primarily as a training pistol and used the 9x19mm PT training round with plastic bullets. About 200 numbers of this variant were manufactured and used mainly to simulate firing in enclosed spaces.

>> P7M13: The P7M13 is P7 variant with a double-column 13-round magazine. This version was offered the US Army, but was not adopted. A variant of the P7M13 was also designed and produced in limited numbers for use by German Special Forces.>> P7K3: The P7L3 is a shortened version of the P7 and has a removable barrel. It is modular in design and by swapping the barrel and magazine it can be used to fire a number of different cartridges such as .380 ACP, .32 ACP and .22 LR.>> P7M10: This version was launched in the American market in 1991. However, limited numbers were manufactured because of high costs and complexity of manufacturing.

The Heckler & Koch HK21 is a support machine gun from Heckler & Koch that has been converted from an earlier rifle model. Its design is based on the G3 and comparatively it is closer to a true light machine gun when compared to the HK13 E. The HK21 is chambered for the NATO 7.62x51mm round and comes with a bipod. A variant of the HK21, designated as “HK21E” comes with a fore grip for more effective firing. The HK21 is fed by disintegrating ammunitions belts like the American M13 or the German DM6 or DM1 from the left-hand side. The gun can be switched from belt to magazine by installing an adapter in the feed-block. Once the adapter is installed, the HK21 can use either a 20-round box magazine or 50-round drum magazine.The HK21 retains the M3’s general level of excellence. It is capable of firing in both fully-automatic and bursts. It is effective up to a range of 2000 meters. The barrel of the HK21 is comparatively heavy and features a slotted flash suppressor. Though the gun is primarily designed for the 7.62x51 mm round, it can also converted to fire other rounds such as 7.62x39mm and 5.56x45mm rounds by swapping some of the components such as the barrel, bolt and the feed unit. Several variants of the HK21 have been developed. These include models such as:>> HK21A1: The HK21A features a simpler design with a modified feed mechanism. The gun is also heavier and has a carrying handle. The HK21A has been exported to several countries and has been adopted by the military forces of Greece. >> HK21E: The HK21E is the version that is built manufactured in Mexico under license. “E” stands for “export”.

Most of the squad support weapons are based on existing assault rifles with a heavy barrel added to them. These are usually chambered for large calibre rounds when compared to the parent rifle, but it some cases use the same round. One such example is the Heckler & Koch HK13E. This weapon is based on the HK33 assault rifle. In fact, it is same as the HK33 in terms of functional mechanism and differs from it only in its heavier barrel.Other differences from the parent rifle are very small. After extensive military testing, it was found that a few changes had to be made to the receiver and so the HK13E also has a slightly different and longer receiver. It is also capable of firing in both automatic and three-round burst firing. In addition, it can be fed from both a magazine and a belt and the conversion process is quick.Just like other guns in its class, the HK13E is little more than a heavier and better-powered rifle. When fed with a belt, it is capable of sustaining continuous fire and packing more fire power. However when fed with 20 or 30-round magazines, it cannot pack effective fire power that may be required in field conditions.