The German army will completely switch to the new infantry machine guns. Yesterday, April 1, portal armyrecognition.com He reported that the German Defense Ministry approved new purchases of the MG5 machine gun.
Bundeswehr buys MG5 machine guns from Heckler & Koch since 2014. Already next year, after the contract for 10,000 MG5 units, the German army will completely abandon the MG3 machine gun.
New German machine guns
The MG5 is available in a 7.62×51 mm caliber and is similar in appearance to the 5.56×45 mm MG4 model, which has been purchased by the German Army since 2005. Similar to its predecessors, the MG5 has a belt feed and a rate of fire of up to 800 rounds per minute, which can be slightly reduced due to the presence of a selector. The total weight of the machine gun with accessories can reach 13 kg.
MG4 (left) and MG5 (right) machine guns)
Image source: soldat-und-technik.de
In the military, the MG5 will replace the MG3 ,whose "lineage" goes back to the legendary MG42 during World War II. Among the Soviet front-line soldiers and the Western allies, this weapon received the nicknames "Bone Cutter" and "Hitler's Saw".