Quote:
Originally Posted by gunnut
He's trying to show you that Germans have a tendency to make things unnecessarily complex and intricate. A safety pin used in a landmine, a very cheap, crude, single use weapon, could and should be made by cheap methods. Instead Germans treat it like a Swiss watch by giving it a machined part.
Look at the guns made by HK. Each of them is a work of art. I love German guns. I own 3 Sig pistols. Each of them is more expensive than a comparable Glock, or a Berreta, or a Smith, or a CZ. That's OK. I'm just a collector. But think about a military force that needs half a million rifles at a time. The cost will become significant.
Military is always short on funds, even the US military. If we can get 90% of the performance at 50% of the cost, we'll do it. Especially if it involves NOT switching the entire arsenal to a new weapon.
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I have no disagreement here, I agree completely.
I just can't really understand why the XM8 was dropped, and now that it is I was thinking about the G-36 as perhaps another option if it could be produced cheaply in the states. HK's version of the AR-15 looks promising though..
The reason behind my thoughts is that the US and many other countries seem to buy/borrow technology more often from each other these days. For example many MBT's have moved over to not only the Leopard 2's gun but its MTU engine as-well, and the Abrams is next. The Challenger 2 is to have the Leo's L/55 gun as-well as the MTU engine. Furthermore the British, Germans & Spanish co-operated on the EF2000, and many countries today are deciding wether to purchase the EF2000, Lockheed's F-35 JSF or Sweden's Gripen fighter. Just to name a few..