Heckler & Koch
Encyclopedia
Heckler & Koch GmbH (ˈhɛklɐʔʊntˈkɔx) is a German defense
manufacturing company
that produces various small arms
. Some of their products include the SA80
, MP5
submachine gun
, G3
automatic rifle
, the G36
assault rifle
, the HK 416, the MP7
personal defense weapon
, the USP
series of handguns, and the high-precision PSG1
sniper rifle
. All firearms made by HK are named by a prefix and the official designation, with suffixes used for variants.
HK has a history of innovation in firearms, such as the use of polymer
s in weapon designs and the use of an integral rail for flashlights on handguns. HK also developed modern polygonal rifling
, noted for its high accuracy, increased muzzle velocity and barrel life. Not all of its technologically ambitious designs have translated into commercially successful products (for instance, the advanced but now abandoned G11
assault rifle, which fired caseless
high-velocity ammunition). HK produces a whole range of small arms, from pistols to grenade launcher
s and machine gun
s. In its extensive product range, HK has used most of the operating systems for small arms: blowback operation
, short-recoil, roller-delayed blowback, gas-delayed blowback, and gas operation
.
, Theodor Koch
, and Alex Seidel
in 1949 from the remnants of the Mauser
company; the company was registered in 1950. Initially the company manufactured machine tools, sewing machine
parts, gauges and other precision parts, but this changed in 1956 when the company proposed the G3 automatic rifle
for the Bundeswehr
(German Federal Army). Since then HK has designed and manufactured more than one hundred different types of firearms and devices for the world's military and law enforcement organizations. In 1991, in the wake of the cancellation of the G41
and G11
rifles, HK was bought by British Aerospace
's Royal Ordnance
division. During that period of ownership they were contracted to carry out the modification programme to the SA80
series of rifles for the British Army
, needed to address a number of reliability issues. Also, H&K developed the lightweight carbon fiber
–reinforced G36
polymer assault rifle
, the current (2008) service rifle
of the Bundeswehr and numerous other military and police forces. In 2002 the renamed BAE Systems
resold HK to a group of private investors, who created the German group holding company (HK Beteiligungs-GmbH).
The company is located in Oberndorf
in the state
of Baden-Württemberg
, but also has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom
, France
and the United States
. The company motto is "Keine Kompromisse!" (No Compromises!). HK provides firearms for many military and paramilitary units, like the Special Air Service
, U.S. Navy SEALs, Delta Force
, FBI HRT, the German KSK
and GSG 9
and many other counter-terrorist and hostage rescue teams.
HK was contracted by the U.S. Army
to produce the kinetic energy
subsystem (see: kinetic projectiles or kinetic energy penetrator
) of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon
, a planned replacement for the M16/M203 grenade launcher
combination. The OICW was designed to fire 5.56 mm bullets
and 25 mm grenades. The kinetic energy component was also developed separately as the XM8
, though both the OICW and XM8 are now indefinitely suspended.
HK is also contracted to refurbish the SA80
range of weapons for the British Army
, mainly because at the time the contract was put out to tender HK was part of BAE Systems
.
Recently, HK developed a modified version of the United States issued M4
, called the HK416. HK replaced the direct impingement
system used by the Stoner
design on the original M16 platform with a short-stroke piston operating system. At this date, there is no indication that the rifle will be adopted by the United States Armed Forces
. However, the elite Delta Force
and other special operations
units have fielded the HK416 in combat, and Oklahoma
Senator
Tom Coburn
has called for a "free and open competition" to determine whether the army should buy the HK416 or continue to purchase more M4 carbines. Incoming Secretary of the Army
Pete Geren
agreed in July 2007 to hold a "dust chamber" test, pitting the M4 against HK's HK416 and XM8, as well as the rival Fabrique Nationale
's SOF Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR)
design. Coburn had threatened to stop Geren’s Senate confirmation if he did not agree to the test. The XM8 and SCAR had the fewest failures in the test, closely followed by the HK416, while the M4 had by far the most. The Norwegian Army
in 2007 became the first to field the HK416 to be its new standard issue rifle.
HK sells its pistols in the United States to both the civilian and law enforcement markets. The company has locations in Virginia
, New Hampshire
, and Georgia
. In 2004, HK was awarded a major handgun contract for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, worth a potential $26.2 million for up to 65,000 pistols. This contract ranks as the single largest handgun procurement contract in US law enforcement history. Many HK civilian rifles that were briefly sold in the United States now have a high value on the secondary market.
The UK headquarters of HK are based within the Easter Park Industrial Estate Nottingham
.
, Thailand
and Burma. It has been argued that the company effectively evaded EU export restrictions when these licensees sold HK weapons to conflict zones including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone.
Defense industry
The defense industry, also called the military industry, comprises government and commercial industry involved in research, development, production, and service of military materiel, equipment and facilities...
manufacturing company
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
that produces various small arms
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
. Some of their products include the SA80
SA80
The SA80 is a British family of 5.56mm small arms. It is a selective fire, gas-operated assault rifle. SA80 prototypes were trialled in 1976 and production was completed in 1994....
, MP5
Heckler & Koch MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a 9mm submachine gun of German design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf am Neckar....
submachine gun
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
, G3
Heckler & Koch G3
The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....
automatic rifle
Automatic rifle
Automatic rifle is a term generally used to describe a semi-automatic rifle chambered for a rifle cartridge, capable of delivering both semi- and full automatic fire...
, the G36
Heckler & Koch G36
The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...
assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
, the HK 416, the MP7
Heckler & Koch MP7
The MP7 is a German submachine gun manufactured by Heckler & Koch and chambered for the 4.6×30mm cartridge. It was designed with the new cartridge to meet NATO requirements published in 1989, as these requirements call for a personal defense weapon class firearm, with a greater ability to defeat...
personal defense weapon
Personal defense weapon
A personal defense weapon is a compact semi-automatic or fully automatic firearm similar in most respects to a submachine gun, but firing an armor-piercing rifle round, giving a PDW better range, accuracy and armor-penetrating capability than submachine guns, which fire pistol-caliber cartridges...
, the USP
Heckler & Koch USP
The USP is a semi-automatic pistol developed in Germany by Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf am Neckar as a replacement for the P7 series of handguns.-History:...
series of handguns, and the high-precision PSG1
Heckler & Koch PSG1
The PSG1 is a semi-automatic rifle designed by the German company Heckler & Koch of Oberndorf am Neckar.-Development:...
sniper rifle
Sniper rifle
In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
. All firearms made by HK are named by a prefix and the official designation, with suffixes used for variants.
HK has a history of innovation in firearms, such as the use of polymer
Polymer
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...
s in weapon designs and the use of an integral rail for flashlights on handguns. HK also developed modern polygonal rifling
Polygonal rifling
Polygonal rifling is a type of gun barrel rifling where the traditional lands and grooves are replaced by "hills and valleys" in a rounded polygonal pattern, usually a hexagon or octagon....
, noted for its high accuracy, increased muzzle velocity and barrel life. Not all of its technologically ambitious designs have translated into commercially successful products (for instance, the advanced but now abandoned G11
Heckler & Koch G11
The Heckler & Koch G11 is a non-production prototype assault rifle developed during the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s by Gesellschaft für Hülsenlose Gewehrsysteme , a conglomeration of companies headed by firearm manufacturer Heckler & Koch , Dynamit Nobel The Heckler & Koch G11 is a non-production...
assault rifle, which fired caseless
Caseless ammunition
Caseless ammunition is a type of small arms ammunition that eliminates the cartridge case that typically holds the primer, propellant, and projectile together as a unit...
high-velocity ammunition). HK produces a whole range of small arms, from pistols to grenade launcher
Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher or grenade discharger is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
s and machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s. In its extensive product range, HK has used most of the operating systems for small arms: blowback operation
Blowback (arms)
Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gases created by the ignition of the propellant charge....
, short-recoil, roller-delayed blowback, gas-delayed blowback, and gas operation
Gas-operated reloading
Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to extract the spent case and chamber a new cartridge. Energy from the gas is harnessed...
.
History
HK was founded by engineers Edmund HecklerEdmund Heckler
Edmund Heckler was a German weapons manufacturer and the co-founder of Heckler & Koch along with Theodor Koch and Alex Seidel. He is buried in Oberndorf.-References:...
, Theodor Koch
Theodor Koch
Theodor Koch was a German engineer and weapons manufacturer, born in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany. As a young man, Koch apprenticed as a precision mechanic. After completing his apprenticeship he attended an engineering school in Esslingen. In 1924 he started work for Mauser in Oberndorf as an...
, and Alex Seidel
Alex Seidel
Alex Seidel was a German weapons manufacturer and the co-founder of Heckler & Koch along with Theodor Koch and Edmund Heckler. Together the three men built the Heckler and Koch company out of the old name of Heckler & Co. on December 28, 1949.-References:...
in 1949 from the remnants of the Mauser
Mauser
Mauser was a German arms manufacturer of a line of bolt-action rifles and pistols from the 1870s to 1995. Mauser designs were built for the German armed forces...
company; the company was registered in 1950. Initially the company manufactured machine tools, sewing machine
Sewing machine
A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric, cards and other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...
parts, gauges and other precision parts, but this changed in 1956 when the company proposed the G3 automatic rifle
Heckler & Koch G3
The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....
for the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
(German Federal Army). Since then HK has designed and manufactured more than one hundred different types of firearms and devices for the world's military and law enforcement organizations. In 1991, in the wake of the cancellation of the G41
Heckler & Koch G41
The G41 is a German 5.56mm assault rifle introduced in 1981 and produced in limited quantities by Heckler & Koch. It was designed to replace the 5.56mm HK33 in service providing a more modern weapon platform compatible with contemporary NATO standards. It is chambered for the 5.56x45mm NATO...
and G11
Heckler & Koch G11
The Heckler & Koch G11 is a non-production prototype assault rifle developed during the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s by Gesellschaft für Hülsenlose Gewehrsysteme , a conglomeration of companies headed by firearm manufacturer Heckler & Koch , Dynamit Nobel The Heckler & Koch G11 is a non-production...
rifles, HK was bought by British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
's Royal Ordnance
Royal Ordnance
Royal Ordnance plc was formed on 2 January 1985 as a public corporation, owning the majority of what until then were the remaining United Kingdom government-owned Royal Ordnance Factories which manufactured explosives, ammunition, small arms including the Lee-Enfield rifle, guns and military...
division. During that period of ownership they were contracted to carry out the modification programme to the SA80
SA80
The SA80 is a British family of 5.56mm small arms. It is a selective fire, gas-operated assault rifle. SA80 prototypes were trialled in 1976 and production was completed in 1994....
series of rifles for the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, needed to address a number of reliability issues. Also, H&K developed the lightweight carbon fiber
Carbon fiber
Carbon fiber, alternatively graphite fiber, carbon graphite or CF, is a material consisting of fibers about 5–10 μm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber...
–reinforced G36
Heckler & Koch G36
The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...
polymer assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
, the current (2008) service rifle
Service rifle
The service rifle of a given army or armed force is that which it issues as standard to its soldiers. In modern forces, this is typically a highly versatile and rugged assault rifle suitable for use in nearly all theatres and environments...
of the Bundeswehr and numerous other military and police forces. In 2002 the renamed BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
resold HK to a group of private investors, who created the German group holding company (HK Beteiligungs-GmbH).
The company is located in Oberndorf
Oberndorf am Neckar
Oberndorf am Neckar is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Neckar, 15 km north of Rottweil.-Geography:...
in the state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, but also has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The company motto is "Keine Kompromisse!" (No Compromises!). HK provides firearms for many military and paramilitary units, like the Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
, U.S. Navy SEALs, Delta Force
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
, FBI HRT, the German KSK
Kommando Spezialkräfte
The KSK Kommando Spezialkräfte is an elite military unit composed of Special Operations soldiers from the ranks of Germany’s Bundeswehr and organized as such under the Division Spezielle Operationen . The unit has received many decorations and awards from both NATO and its affiliates...
and GSG 9
GSG 9
The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei , is the elite counter-terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police.-History and name:...
and many other counter-terrorist and hostage rescue teams.
HK was contracted by the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
to produce the kinetic energy
Kinetic energy
The kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes...
subsystem (see: kinetic projectiles or kinetic energy penetrator
Kinetic energy penetrator
A kinetic energy penetrator is a type of ammunition which, like a bullet, does not contain explosives and uses kinetic energy to penetrate the target....
) of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon
XM29 OICW
The XM29 OICW was a series of prototypes of a new type of battle rifle that fired 20 mm HE airbursting projectiles. The prototypes were developed as part of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon program in the 1990s...
, a planned replacement for the M16/M203 grenade launcher
M203 grenade launcher
The M203 is a single shot 40 mm grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilize the High-Low Propulsion System to keep recoil forces low. Though versatile, and compatible with many rifle models, the M203 was...
combination. The OICW was designed to fire 5.56 mm bullets
5.56x45mm NATO
5.56×45mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the United States and originally chambered in the M16 rifle. Under STANAG 4172, it is a standard cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries. It is derived from, but not identical to, the .223 Remington cartridge...
and 25 mm grenades. The kinetic energy component was also developed separately as the XM8
XM8 rifle
The XM8 was a developmental U.S. Military designation and project name for a lightweight assault rifle system that was under development by the United States Army from the late 1990s to early 2000s...
, though both the OICW and XM8 are now indefinitely suspended.
HK is also contracted to refurbish the SA80
SA80
The SA80 is a British family of 5.56mm small arms. It is a selective fire, gas-operated assault rifle. SA80 prototypes were trialled in 1976 and production was completed in 1994....
range of weapons for the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, mainly because at the time the contract was put out to tender HK was part of BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
.
Recently, HK developed a modified version of the United States issued M4
M4 carbine
The M4 carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner and made by ArmaLite. It is a shorter and lighter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle, with 80% parts commonality.It is a gas-operated,...
, called the HK416. HK replaced the direct impingement
Direct impingement
Direct impingement is a type of gas operation for a firearm that directs gas from a fired cartridge directly to the bolt carrier or slide assembly to cycle the action.- Evaluation :...
system used by the Stoner
Eugene Stoner
Eugene Morrison Stoner is the man most associated with the design of the AR-15, which was adopted by the US military as the M16...
design on the original M16 platform with a short-stroke piston operating system. At this date, there is no indication that the rifle will be adopted by the United States Armed Forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
. However, the elite Delta Force
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
and other special operations
United States Special Operations Command
The United States Special Operations Command is the Unified Combatant Command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Commands of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps of the United States Armed Forces. The command is part of the Department of Defense...
units have fielded the HK416 in combat, and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Tom Coburn
Tom Coburn
Thomas Allen "Tom" Coburn, M.D. , is an American politician, medical doctor, and Southern Baptist deacon. A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the junior U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. In the Senate, he is known as "Dr. No" for his tendency to place holds on and vote against bills...
has called for a "free and open competition" to determine whether the army should buy the HK416 or continue to purchase more M4 carbines. Incoming Secretary of the Army
United States Secretary of the Army
The Secretary of the Army is a civilian official within the Department of Defense of the United States of America with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and...
Pete Geren
Pete Geren
Preston M. "Pete" Geren, III served as the 20th United States Secretary of the Army from July 16, 2007 to September 16, 2009...
agreed in July 2007 to hold a "dust chamber" test, pitting the M4 against HK's HK416 and XM8, as well as the rival Fabrique Nationale
Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal — self identified as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN — is a firearms manufacturer located in Herstal, Belgium....
's SOF Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR)
FN SCAR
The Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle, or SCAR, is a modular rifle made by FN Herstal for the United States Special Operations Command to satisfy the requirements of the SCAR competition. This family of rifles consist of two main types...
design. Coburn had threatened to stop Geren’s Senate confirmation if he did not agree to the test. The XM8 and SCAR had the fewest failures in the test, closely followed by the HK416, while the M4 had by far the most. The Norwegian Army
Norwegian Army
Norway achieved full independence in 1905, and in the first century of its short life has contributed to two major conflicts, the Cold War and the War on Terror. The Norwegian Army currently operates in the north of Norway and in Afghanistan as well as in Eastern Europe. The Army is the oldest of...
in 2007 became the first to field the HK416 to be its new standard issue rifle.
HK sells its pistols in the United States to both the civilian and law enforcement markets. The company has locations in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. In 2004, HK was awarded a major handgun contract for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, worth a potential $26.2 million for up to 65,000 pistols. This contract ranks as the single largest handgun procurement contract in US law enforcement history. Many HK civilian rifles that were briefly sold in the United States now have a high value on the secondary market.
The UK headquarters of HK are based within the Easter Park Industrial Estate Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
.
Criticisms
HK has been accused of shipping small arms to conflict regions such as Bosnia and Nepal, and has licensed its weapons for production by governments with poor human rights records such as SudanSudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Burma. It has been argued that the company effectively evaded EU export restrictions when these licensees sold HK weapons to conflict zones including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone.
HK abbreviations
Format: Abbreviation = German Text ("English Text")- A = ("version")
- G = ("rifle")
- K = Either ("short") for pistols and submachine guns or ("Carbine") for rifles and assault rifles.
- AG = Either stands for ("attached device") or ("attached grenade launcher")
- GMG = ("grenade machine gun")
- GMW = (automatic grenade launcher)
- MG = ("machine gun")
- MP = ("submachine gun" or "machine pistol")
- PSG = ("precision sharp shooter rifle")
- PSP = ("police self-loading pistol")
- SD = ("sound dampener", "suppressor"); In the case of the MP5 having an integral suppressorSuppressorA suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....
, in the case of the USP, an extended threaded barrel for attaching a suppressor. - SG = ("sharpshooters rifle")
- SL = ("Autoloader")
- UMP = ("universal machine pistol")
- UCP = Universal Combat Pistol
- USC = Universal Self-loading Carbine
- USP = ("universal self-loading pistol")
- ZF = ("telescopic sight")