The Really High Price Tag for the Marine Corp’s HK416 Rifles
By Debbie Gregory.
During a March 6th House Armed Services Committee hearing, lawmakers interrogated Marine Corps officials regarding a $150 million deal with Heckler & Koch to provide the service branch with some 50,000 HK416 rifles. This works out to approximately $3,000 each, almost five times the cost of the current M4, which cost $642 per rifle in 2013.
Called into question, besides the cost, was the Corp’s sidestepping of the normal acquisition process: the contract was sourced to foreign manufacturer Heckler & Koch without allowing American firearms companies to compete for the contract.
Although the longer rifle barrel and gas piston operating system gives the Heckler & Koch rifle an edge over the M4, it doesn’t seem like that justifies the higher price tag.
To be fair, when the Marine Corps purchased the M4’s, FN Herstal aggressively underbid both Remington and Colt, resulting in the deeply discounted price per weapon.
In questioning Lt. Gen. Brian D. Beaudreault, deputy commandant of Plans, Policies, and Operations, HASC Chairman Rep. Joe Wilson asked, “Do you believe that it is the best option to not compete a contract that could be as many as 50,814 rifles?”
When FN Herstal lodged a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) over the issue of the Marine Corps not allowing competition to yield the best product for the lowest price, the GAO rejected that protest, claiming an exception in which “the supplies or services required by an agency are available from only one responsible source, and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.”
Here’s where the waters get a little murky. Those requirements would be determined by Marine Corps Systems Command’s Program Manager for Infantry Weapons Systems, and would likely involve Marine Systems Command (MARSYSCOM) supervisory lead engineer Sal Fanelli. Interestingly, before joining MARSYSCOM, Fanelli previously worked for Heckler & Koch.
