![]() ![]() Only 265 units were ever produced, only some of which made their way into the hands of the Bundeswehr. The political changes following Germany's reunification also cut down military funding for the newly reunited nation, and as a result the G11 was struck from the procurement process. The G11 was finished in 1990, and although the project was technically successful, the weapon didn't enter full production due to the significantly high production cost for both the rifle and the munitions. ![]() Other minor issues such as weapon chamber fouling and logistic handling were also solved in time. This was eventually solved by using the HMX nitroamine high explosive propellant, since it had a much higher igniting temperature. The lack of an ejection port or a brass casing bleeding off excess heat meant that the chamber was heating up to the point that the nitrocellulose initially used as the solid propellant was being ignited before the trigger was pulled. The finished weapon itself was a success, but development of the ammunition had a few major bottlenecking points through out the twenty years of development, primarily plagued by the cook-off problem. The G11 project was started in the 1960s, and was handled by a joint research group made up of three different companies. Cracked munitions have direct effects on the firing performance of G11. ![]() However, the solid propellant is brittle, which when handled improperly may crack or shatter. The small and rectangular shape of the cartridge meant it stacked better, so more rounds could fit in the same given volume than conventional rounds. When primed, the solid propellant fully ignites and the energy produced from burning forces the bullet out, with the plastic cap and primer ejected after use. It consists of 4 parts: the solid propellant, the primer, the bullet, and a plastic cap that serves to keep the bullet centered in the propellant block. It sports a cuboid shape as opposed to conventional round cartridges. The main cartridge designed for G11's usage is the 4.73×33mm caseless cartridge. Thanks to the unconventional magazine placement, the weapon itself is relatively short, with the G11 measuring 750mm in length while having a 540mm long barrel. An integrated optical sight can be found on top of the carrying handle, which is removable to allow the use of other sights. Other features of the weapon included a fire selector lever capable of functioning as a safety, as well as toggling between burst and automatic fire. The burst rate of fire is so fast the recoil is only felt after all three projectiles leave the weapon. In this mode, the G11 is capable of reaching a cyclic rate of fire of 2100 rounds per minute, delivering three projectiles down range at a muzzle velocity of 930 meters per second. The G11 is capable achieving a 460 rounds per minute fully automatic rate of fire, but the rifle's main selling point is the three-round burst fire mode. This prototype assault rifle uses a gas-operated rotary breech mechanism, feeding from a 45-/50-round detachable magazine that is loaded in from the front of the weapon above the barrel, and was chambered for the 4.73×33mm caseless ammunition. In theory, caseless munitions can achieve faster rates of weapon fire, since the process of the bolt unlocking followed by brass extraction and ejection is not needed with a bullet that doesn't come with a case the weapon only needs to fire, load a new cartridge, and repeat. In the end, almost every project ended in failure or lost interest, with the exception of Heckler & Koch's G11. During the Cold War, caseless ammunition was one of NATO's top projects, in order to achieve both easier ammunition storage/logistics and faster rate of fire.
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