Heckler and Koch to supply U.S. Army with HK241 squad marksman rifles.

Heckler & Koch Defense Inc., Ashburn, Virginia, was awarded a $33,500,000 modification to contract W15QKN-16-D-0051 for the Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper Systems and the Squad Designated Marksman Rifle.

HK241, a lighter version of the HK417 G28 (Picture source: Heckler & Koch)

Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 16, 2022. U.S. Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, is the contracting activity.

In April 2016 Heckler & Koch confirmed that a lighter version of the G28 (HK417) had won the U.S. Army's Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System contract to replace the M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System. It is designated as the M110A1 and uses an aluminum upper receiver instead of steel to meet weight requirements, weighing 8.4 lb (3.8 kg) unloaded and reaching some 15 lb (6.8 kg) loaded and with accessories; the M110A1 features a Geissele M-LOK rail handguard, Schmidt & Bender 3–20×50 PM II Ultra Short telescopic sight, Geissele optic mount, OSS SRM6 suppressor, 6-9 Harris bipod and mount, and a collapsible stock with adjustable comb. In May 2018, the U.S. Marine Corps will begin receiving the CSASS, also to replace the M110.

M110A1 Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDMR): in March 2018, the Army announced that a version of the G28/M110A1 would be issued to infantry squads as the service's standard Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDMR). Issuing a 7.62×51mm NATO SDMR is meant to increase individual squads' ability to defeat enemy body armor that standard 5.56×45mm NATO rounds cannot penetrate. The M110A1-based rifle will replace the M14 EBR, in use by the Army since 2009, but because it was based on an operational needs statement it had to be turned in by units at the end of a combat deployment. Unlike the sniper configuration, the SDMR model will be equipped with a different buttstock and barrel twist than the CSASS model. The marksman version is fitted with a simpler SIG TANGO6 1-6×24 telescopic sight to make quick adjustments between 0–600 m (0–656 yd), and it fires M80A1 Enhanced Performance Rounds or XM1158 Advanced Armor Piercing Rounds rather than sniper rounds; it will be fielded with a suppressor to make the marksman less identifiable with louder 7.62×51mm NATO rounds. The SDMR TANGO6 1-6×24 telescopic sight features a red horseshoe dot for fast aiming and an illuminated Extended Range Bullet Drop Compensation (BDC) illuminated front focal plane reticule.

The HK241 SDMR was evaluated at Fort Bliss by the Army’s PEO Soldier program in 2019.

G28 in (shorter) E3 Patrol variant (Picture source: Army Recognition)