“Live from DSEI2023: HK421 variant in sniper grey with retractable Para buttstock.” – from Heckler & Koch
For the past few days, Heckler & Koch Germany has been teasing their new HK 421, a newly developed compact and lightweight machine gun. At DSEI 2023 in London (12-15 September 2023), an exhibition with over 2,800 defence and security suppliers, it was finally unveiled in various configurations.
Heckler & Koch @ TFB:
Below: The very first tease, an empty cabinet with frosted plexiglass.
Photo: Heckler & Koch Germany
Heckler & Koch currently markets the MG4 and MG5, which are largely identical in operation and handling to each other. The MG4 is described as a “Light machine gun for heavy duty“, and is chambered in 5.56×45 NATO. The MG5 is a 7.62×51 NATO and is described by H&K as “Covers target areas, suppresses hostiles“.
The HK421 is a belt-fed machine gun, with a loaded state indicator, on the basis of the MG5. There will be various barrel lengths available, for instance, 13″ and 16.5”. The mechanism is a locked rotating bolt head, and it fires from an open bolt. It uses a hydraulic buffer system, which enables a variety of buttstocks to be used. At DSEI 2023 it was shown with both a collapsible stock and an HK416A8 buttstock.
The top image shows a variant in Sniper Grey Cerakote, with a retractable Para buttstock.
Photo: Heckler & Koch Germany
Saving weight – According to a contact at DSEI 2023, the weight of the new HK 421 is about 8.5 kg, which would make the machine gun about 3 kilograms lighter than the MG5.
How compact are your stock and buffer?
As soon as Heckler & Koch unveils more official information, we’ll be back with an update.
Sources: Heckler & Koch Germany, Soldat & Technik and Soldier Systems.
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