Heckler & Koch HK417
The Heckler & Koch HK417 is a battle rifle/designated marksman rifle designed and manufactured by Heckler & Koch in Germany. It is the larger caliber version of the HK416, and chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO rifle cartridge. It is a gas-operated, selective fire rifle with a rotating bolt. The HK417 is intended for use in roles where the penetrative power, stopping power, and range of the 7.62×51mm cartridge are required. It has been adopted for service by a number of armed forces, special forces, and police organizations.
Design and features
The HK417 is similar in internal design to the HK416, although the receiver and working parts are enlarged to suit the larger 7.62×51mm cartridge. The bolt is a seven-lug rotating type, which sits in a bolt carrier and operates in a forged alloy receiver resembling those of the Stoner-designed AR-10, AR-15 and M16 rifles.Like the HK416, the HK417 is gas-operated with a short-stroke piston design similar to that of the Heckler & Koch G36. The short-stroke piston is more reliable than the original direct impingement operation of the AR-15 design because, unlike these weapons, it does not vent propellant gases directly into the receiver, which deposits carbon fouling onto the bolt mechanism as well as heating it up.
The early HK417 prototype used 20-round magazines from the Heckler & Koch G3 rifle family, which did not feature a bolt hold-open device. Later prototypes, however, switched to a polymer magazine with bolt hold-open. The magazine resembles an enlarged version of the G36's transparent magazine, except without the pins for holding more than one magazine together.
Use
Purchasers of the HK417 have typically intended it to complement lighter assault rifles chambered for less powerful intermediate cartridges, for the designated marksman role. The HK417's greater accuracy, effective range, and penetration offset its greater expense, its lower rate of fire, and its smaller ammunition capacity both in magazine and carriage.Variants
Military and law enforcement
The HK417 models chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO available to the military and law enforcement market are:- HK417 12″ 'Assaulter': carbine with standard barrel
- HK417 16″ 'Recce': "Recon" rifle with standard or accurized barrel
- HK417 20″ 'Sniper': "full size" rifle with accurized barrel
Improved model
As of 2013, the HK417A2 models chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO available to the military and law enforcement market are:
- HK417A2 - 13″: carbine with barrel
- HK417A2 - 16.5″: rifle with barrel
- HK417A2 - 20″: "full size" rifle with barrel
G28
After using the HK417 as a stopgap designated marksman rifle under the G27 designation, the civilian MR308 was used to develop the G28, a designated marksman rifle for the German Bundeswehr deployment to the War in Afghanistan. The semi-automatic G28 is chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO and has a factory warrantied accuracy of 45 mm dispersion at 100 meters when fired with 10 rounds using OTM/HPBT/Sierra Match King ammunition. The G28 features STANAG 4694 NATO Accessory Rails that are backwards-compatible with the STANAG 2324/MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rails. The upper receiver is made from steel instead of HK's aluminium alloy. Approximately 75% of the parts are interchangeable with the HK417. There are two different versions of the G28: G28 E2 with a Schmidt & Bender 3–20×50 PM II and the G28 E3 with Schmidt & Bender 1–8×24 PM II. By October 2017, Heckler & Koch had renamed the G28 as the HK241, though G28 remains its Bundeswehr designation.M110A1
In April 2016 Heckler & Koch confirmed that a lighter version of the G28 had won the United States Army's Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System contract to replace the M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System. It is designated as the M110A1 and uses an aluminum upper receiver instead of steel to meet weight requirements, weighing unloaded and reaching some loaded and with accessories; the M110A1 features a Geissele M-LOK rail handguard, Schmidt & Bender 3–20×50 PM II Ultra Short telescopic sight, Geissele optic mount, OSS SRM6 suppressor, 6-9 Harris bipod and mount, and a collapsible stock with adjustable comb. In May 2018, the U.S. Marine Corps will begin receiving the CSASS, also to replace the M110.In March 2018, the Army announced that a version of the G28/M110A1 would be issued to infantry squads as the service's standard Squad Designated Marksman Rifle. Issuing a 7.62×51mm NATO SDMR is meant to increase individual squads' ability to defeat enemy body armor that standard 5.56×45mm NATO rounds cannot penetrate. The M110A1-based rifle will replace the M14 EBR, in use by the Army since 2009, but because it was based on an operational needs statement it had to be turned in by units at the end of a combat deployment. Unlike the sniper configuration, the SDMR model will be equipped with a different buttstock and barrel twist than the CSASS model. The marksman version is fitted with a simpler SIG TANGO6 1-6×24 telescopic sight to make quick adjustments between, and it fires M80A1 Enhanced Performance Rounds or XM1158 Advanced Armor Piercing Rounds rather than sniper rounds; it will be fielded with a suppressor to make the marksman less identifiable with louder 7.62×51mm NATO rounds. The SDMR TANGO6 1-6×24 telescopic sight features a red horseshoedot for fast aiming and an illuminated Extended Range Bullet Drop Compensation illuminated front focal plane reticle. Roughly 6,000 are planned to be fielded with one per squad in infantry, engineer and scout formations. U.S. Army combat units began receiving the first M110A1 SDMRs in April 2020.
Civilian
The MR308 is a civilian variant of the HK417, introduced in 2007 alongside the MR556, a civilian HK416. It is a semi-automatic rifle with several "sporterized" features. At the 2009 SHOT Show, the two rifles were introduced to the American civilian market as the MR762 and MR556, respectively. Since then both were replaced by the improved MR762A1 and MR556A1.Users
| Country | Organization name | Model | Quantity | Date | Reference |
| Special Operations Battalion | HK417 | – | – | ||
| Australian Army acquired 16″ 'Recce' variants paired with 6× ACOG for a designated marksman solution for use in Afghanistan and afterwards | 16″ 'Recce' | – | 2010 | ||
| Brazilian Army | – | – | 2012 | ||
| Federal Police of Brazil | – | – | 2012 | ||
| Croatian Army uses it as a designated marksman rifle | 12″ 'Assaulter' | – | – | ||
| Special Operations Battalion use it as a battle rifle. | 12″ 'Assaulter' | – | – | ||
| 601st Special Forces Group | – | – | – | ||
| Royal Danish Army uses it as a designated marksman rifle | 20″ 'Sniper' | – | – | ||
| Estonian Special Operations Force uses it as a designated marksman rifle | – | – | – | ||
| Commandement des Opérations Spéciales and the regular French army as a DMR, it is also used by various police units and the gendarmerie. | – | – | – | ||
| German Army uses the HK417 - 16″ as the G27 | 16″ | – | – | ||
| German Army uses a modified MR308, the G28, as a designated marksman rifle | G28 | – | – | ||
| GSG 9 sniper teams of the German Federal Police | – | – | – | ||
| TEK snipers use it as a DMR. | HK 417 | – | – | ||
| Jala Mangkarta Detachment, as a Designated Marksman Rifle. | G28 | – | – | ||
| Defence Forces Army Ranger Wing sniper teams | – | – | 2010 | ||
| Italian Army, Italian special forces, San Marco Marine Brigade | – | – | – | ||
| Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, Special Forces Group | – | – | 2014 | ||
| Republic of Korea Army, 707th Special Mission Battalion | G28 | – | – | ||
| Pasukan Khas Laut sniper teams of the Royal Malaysian Navy | – | – | 2006 | ||
| Military of Mauritius uses it as a marksman rifle. | – | – | 2013 | – | |
| Korps Commandotroepen of the Royal Netherlands Army acquired the 16″ 'Recce' paired with Aimpoint CompM2 or Schmidt & Bender 3–12×50 PM II | – | – | 2011 | ||
| Norwegian Armed Forces uses it as a sharpshooter and designated marksman rifle | HK417N | – | 2007 | ||
| Policja | – | – | – | ||
| Special Actions Detachment of the Portuguese Navy Special Operations Troops Centre of the Portuguese Army | HK417, G28 | – | – | ||
| Spetsnaz snipers of law enforcement agencies | MR308 | – | – | ||
| FSB Alpha Group | MR308 | – | – | ||
| Slovenian Special Police Unit | HK417 | – | – | ||
| Special Operations Command of the Spanish Army, Special Naval Warfare Force of the Spanish Navy National Police Special Operations Group Special Intervention Unit and Fast Action Group of Civil Guard | HK417 | – | – | ||
| Särskilda operationsgruppen | HK417 | – | – | ||
| Tunisian Army's Special Forces Group | HK417 | – | – | ||
| Gendarmerie Special Operations | HK417 | – | – | ||
| National Navy of Uruguay, Marine infantry | HK G28 | – | – | ||
| United Kingdom Special Forces sniper teams | HK417 - 12", 16" and 20" | – | – | ||
| Surrey Police sniper teams | HK417 | – | – | ||
| West Mercia Police sniper teams | HK417 | – | – | ||
| Joint Special Operations Command | – | – | – | ||
| United States Army | M110A1 | 3,643 | – |