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Rumor Has It Confirmed – H&K Wins CSASS

It’s beyond rumor at this point. According to multiple sources familiar with various aspects of the program, H&K’s entry for the Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System (CSASS) program was selected earlier this week for procurement by the United States Army. Other finalists were LMT and FNH USA.

The entry, named the G28E1, was displayed at SHOT Show in H&K’s booth. Interestingly, it incorporates an OSS Suppressor.

The program for this new, compact version of a 7.62 NATO gas gun finds its beginning in 2012 but the actual solicitation wasn’t until late 2014 with the goal being “improved reliability, improved accuracy, and improved ergonomics; reduced weight and length; advanced coatings; improved optics; reduced felt recoil; enhanced suppressor performance; enhanced modular rail capabilities; an improved bipod, trigger, pistol grip, and buttstock.” Since then, the candidates have been through a down select to further trim the field to three and numerous testing regimines.

According to documents obtained by SSD, the Army has been planning events around an ‘M-110E1’, referred to as an improved version of the M-110 which is more compact and lighter weight, leading us to believe that the CSASS will adopt this nomenclature.

PEO Soldier did not respond to our request for information regarding this award. No word yet on how many the Army plans to purchase or the Basis of Issue.

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51 Responses to “Rumor Has It Confirmed – H&K Wins CSASS”

  1. Agentofwrath says:

    As it is the present DOD procurement award custom….gentlemen start the loosing companies lawsuit countdown. Its contested baby…

  2. Russell says:

    If this is true I’m quite impressed, first the 2010, now this beauty. The question now though is; what optic are they going to pair it with?

  3. Iceman says:

    Congrats to both HK and OSS.

  4. Ed says:

    At least it wasn’t another FN SNAFU! Ha

  5. JPW says:

    Russell, at the SHOT Show as as well as on another event just before SHOT Show the G28E carried a Schmidt&Bender 3-20 x 50 PM II Ultra Short scope. Of course I do not know if this was the final original CSASS configuration.

  6. jbgleason says:

    A little surprised the LaRue OBR didn’t win this. The rifle has won the USASOC Sniper Comp a couple of times at least and it is a product made in the US. Anyone know if it was considered and what happened?

  7. SVGC says:

    I’d be interested to see how the keymod looking handguard does with bipods loaded fully into a barricade, I’m sure it went through exhausted testing and that it’s pretty solid. I’m glad to see some movement with this program and fully ready to see a 7.62 gas gun get mass issued that wasn’t designed with the idea that it would primarily be shot off the bipods in the prone. I always used to figure sometime or another a shorter upper and a conversion to the existing SRs would make its way in but I guess this is a solution as well.

  8. ThatBlueFalcon says:

    Will the system use the ‘HKeyMod’ or will it be a full Picatinny? Can’t see the Army embracing ‘HKeyMod’ after other groups have walked away from KeyMod, but then again…

  9. Master says:

    Is anyone else concerned about the non standard rail interface?

  10. John says:

    Hmm, a piston gun wins the contract. Delta and SEALS are already employing the HK416. And the HK416 (M27 IAR) replaced the SAW for the Marines. Looks like pistons are inching their way into the military. Could the M4 be far behind? 🙂

    • bulldog76 says:

      i hope to god it doesn’t spread piston ars are to damn heavy for their own good and you loose accuracy

      • Fitzsimmons says:

        Um, this rifle, the csass is a piston… I really wish the old school guys would just accept improvements, even if they invested their whole careers on di weaps. Society (and weapons?) advances one graveyard at a time.

  11. Easy E says:

    I’m here to confirm that I cannot confirm if this is true or not. I did like the H&Ks in 7.62 the Royal Marines I worked with had.

  12. Anyone rooting for KAC here? No?

  13. Guy says:

    What was wrong with the M110? We had a couple in my unit but I never got to use one. Just curious.

    • SVGC says:

      Besides any performance or reliability issues it was a heavy 20″ fixed stock rifle with a giant suppressor. Clearing houses with it sucked and for a lot of us using the different iterations of that platform we wanted a shorter lighter AR10 based precision rifle that we could carry as a primary and use in close range and intermediate distances. At one point of time my bolt gun was a more compact rifle, obviously not suited to be used as a primary weapon. The M110K came along and out of the different knights guns that made it around I thought it seemed to be the most suitable option, this is essentially the same idea.

  14. LCSO264 says:

    First off, I have no insight into this process, nor do I have any independent knowledge of how the selection was made.

    regardless of where it is made, or who the manufacturer is, it appears the G28 performed the best in the trials. I’m assuming the choice was made based on performance. To that alone, it is good to see the “best” (at least according to the T&E process) rifle selected.

    One only has to look as far back as the M9 adoption, where Beretta was able to tool up US manufacturing and come in at a lower price point to beat out the Sig P226. Clearly the “best” handgun was not the one which won that contract…

    • Rob says:

      Beretta won in the 1980s. The GAO investigation stated that if bias existed it was toward Sig which failed the mud test yet was still allowed to bid. They still lost and Sig did not participate in the second test after the initial complaint which found that s&w was unfairly excluded. Beretta won the initial trail along with the second when Sig did not feel the need to enter. Your horse can’t win the race if you don’t take it out of the stable. It is time to let go….

      Details on the failed mud test in on page 38 of the GAO report. http://archive.gao.gov/d4t4/130439.pdf
      Sig(SACO) not only was bested by Beretta in the mud test, it was 17% less reliable in the test than its nearest competitor.

  15. 18Derp says:

    I’ll be willing to bet that if HK won or doesn’t, that the gun is never fielded with the OSS on it.

    KAC had it exactly right with M110K5. Semi perm attached traditional can, light, works, done.

    • Eagleeastcoast says:

      Why wouldn’t it be fielded the way it was tested as a package with the OSS? In fact 3 out of the 5 entries had the OSS as the suppressor component, in law enforcement we call that a clue. Traditional designs may be lacking in performance for the mission the complete system was designed and tested for.

  16. indeed says:

    Holy dog poo … Full of fail

    – As Germany’s new laws preclude selling to US ..

    – As units that tried HK417 ditch it .. the Army chooses it.

  17. Disco says:

    Holy god this is more pointless than the SCAR…..

  18. Cool Arrow Kicker says:

    This will be interesting… especially since Russ left OSS

  19. Marcus says:

    I’ll be interested to see how well this endures after more extensive field testing. That’s usually HK’s Achilles heel. If it’s like the G36, you might be better off trying to club people to death with it.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if the KAC entry won out over time. They’ve got more time in this game than anyone else and they’ve been very responsive to any criticism.

  20. Cuvie says:

    Wouldn’t this mean they have to buy all new magazines for it since the HK417 isn’t compatible with the old KAC mags? I know Sphur makes a HK lower that accepts KAC mags, but was there any sort of magazine requirement for the CSASS program?

  21. Mick says:

    don’t have a good eye for this… can anyone tell, is that a 16″ or 20″ barrel? I’m guessing 16?

    Also, more pics of this particular configuration out on the web?

  22. Joglee says:

    Wonder if this rumor will be as accurate as CAG using a CM901 on the Osama raid.

  23. Sauerkraut says:

    Hey Broo’s.
    Greetings from Germany.
    HK USA is a diffrent Company then HK Germany.
    They have a diffrent Mindset and the Products in the US are deffenetly better!!
    We Run some HK 417 in ( G28 ) in the Army, it is not Bad …. But it is too Heavy!!
    SOF Use the HK 417 with a 16,5 Barrel but without a MatchTrigger and without a Sniper Stock.
    It works for distances to 700 Meter’s but it is to Heavy , and more a DMR Rifle.

    So i think the G28E is not the badest Choice…

  24. Henrik says:

    These (expensive) refinements of non bullpup riffles is like watching paint dry.

    One could only guess how much other money is wasted in the US military on redundant technologies.

    • SVGC says:

      Nobody was asking for a bullpup and nobody wants one. The bids get submitted for what the customer wants and not a single customer that this program was designed for wants a bullpup. I do agree that there is a redundancy here and that a shorter, lighter upper in addition to the existing system should’ve been around years ago but as far as anyone who will work with this is concerned the bullpup S can stay in Europe.

  25. CWG says:

    Why on earth they couldn’t simply buy a KAC 16″ upper, and collapsible stock kit and use the existing systems is beyond me.

    Oh wait, the armies job is the spend money. Everything else is second.

  26. Chad says:

    I have personally owned a KAC ECC & APC, a SCAR 17s, and a good bit of time behind the EMC, and LMT MWS. I also own a HK MR762.

    I kept the HK. Even with the stock trigger I personally got the best precision with the HK. HK barrels appear to have a longer receiver extension so there is more barrel support to the upper. The barrels are also an interference fit. You have to either press the barrel out once the barrel nut is loose or use heat on the upper.
    I am just a peon reserve leo, but I have to agree with the outcome of this trial. The MR762/G28/417 is a great rifle. As far as mags, HK can put 1-2 injection mold presses in Columbus and spit them out for pennies on the dollar compared to steel or AL SR25 mags. I still like KAC products, but if anyone here takes a base SR25 ECC w/o a $400 (nearly 1/2 price of suppressor) muzzle brake and fire it from a field position vs a MR762, you’ll learn real quick the HK has a much softer recoil impulse vs the SR. There is a significant difference in the bcg weight of the two as well, which I feel attributes to the HK recoiling less (at least inmy experience and with the guys who have fired my rifles).

    Congrats HK

    • Randall says:

      Yep they’ll make magazines for pennies on the dollar…..and sell them to the Government for 100 dollars a piece since I’m sure they’re proprietary and ONLY H&K will be allowed to make them…….somebody in the Army will suddenly find themselves making 6 figures with a company affiliated with H&K but not obviously so (to skirt the regs) the day after they retire from the military…….something smells here….probably related to the same !@$%%^who gave us the ACUs

  27. Va Beach says:

    OSS? Tried to deal with this company. Even had them come do a demo. We are even a distributor. You can’t get product from them. Always have excuses. Great “can” but if you can’t get product out the door how you going to survive. Lot of these companies out there.