Ukrainian paratroopers from the 82nd Air Assault Brigade received Haenel MK 556 rifles from the German government, according to Militarnyi.
Initially, they were manufactured for the German armed forces, but with the termination of the contract due to patent infringements, the delivery of the rifles was halted.
The MK556 (Maschinenkarabiner 556) was developed by the German company Haenel. It is based on the widely used American AR-15 assault rifle in the standard NATO caliber of 5.56×45 mm. Unlike the original system, the German rifle features a more practical short-stroke gas piston operation with a gas regulator.
The soldiers received the rifle in the standard German configuration, which included a carry handle, a retractable telescopic stock, and a collimator sight.
According to the terminated defense contract, Haenel was supposed to produce 120,000 rifles for the Bundeswehr, worth €245 million. However, due to the refusal to cooperate further, only 5,000 units were produced.
As of July 2024, 2,425 rifles had been handed over to the Ukrainian military, including to the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces units and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Notably, some of these rifles were equipped with original Haenel suppressors.
Despite the large number of rifles already delivered, the soldiers of the 82nd Brigade continued to use weapons in multiple calibers: the Soviet 5.45 mm and the Western 5.56 mm.
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