It seems that the German Bundeswehr’s current Sturmgewehr Saga is still a long way from being fully and finally resolved, and in the meantime the (allegedly) flawed G36 soldiers on…

While the German’s try to untangle themselves from the knot they got themselves into with the whole ‘replace-the-G36-with-an-AR-based-platform-at-the-lowest-cost-technically-acceptable-option’, along come the Austrians at Steyr Arms with an apparently simple solution. called the G62, it essentially equals an ungraded, modernized, and NATO STANAG version of the G36.

The Steyr G62 replaces the controversial polymer receiver of the G36 with a metal one for increased thermal stability, a new barrel with improved steel that delivers better accuracy and resistance to thermal stress, a top Picatinny rail with built-in flip-up sights that will accept a wide range of optical sight options, and a magazine well that accepts any STANAG pattern (M4/M16 style) magazine.

All components of the upgrade kit can be mounted together or independently as desired to any and all G36 models. Besides the technical and physical improvements that the Steyr system delivers to the rifle, it also provides numerous advantages to end user organizations, and to the individual shooter. The manual of arms remains entirely the same, so retraining/requalifying is unnecessary; all other parts of the rifle platform are the same, so logistics and spare parts support is unaffected; service life and interoperability is also extended and enhanced.

Other countries besides Germany also use the G36 in significant numbers, and they might also find this “Austrian solution” to be a viable path forward to upgrade and/or prolong the service life of their rifles. Check out this video from Steyr for a good overview:

More info can be found at Steyr-Arms.com