The French Armed Forces placed an order for 120,000 Aimpoint CompM5 red dot sights to complement its new batch of Heckler & Koch HK416F assault rifles. The contract covers a period of six years. Here’s HK’s short, but sweet, press release announcing the buy:
The French Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) has awarded on the 17th of July 2018 to the consortium Heckler & Koch France SAS / Aimpoint AB an important contract for the supply of red dot sights for the new HK416 F French assault rifle.
The contract covers the supply of up to 120,000 CompM5 sights over a period of six years. The CompM5 sight is the latest offering of the originator and worldwide leader in reflex sighting technology Aimpoint AB. Compact, lightweight and rugged, it will further increase the capabilities of the French soldier equipped with the new HK416 F assault rifle.
HK416F
In late 2016, it was announced that the French Armed Forces had selected the Heckler & Koch HK416F to replace its decades-old FAMAS bullpup—nicknamed the Bugle due to its shape—as its standard assault rifle. HK beat out the FN SCAR; HS Produkt’s VHS-2; SIG’s MCX; and the Beretta ARX to win the contract rumored to be worth around $184 million.
Under the terms of the deal, HK will deliver 102,000 HK416F 5.56x45mm NATO rifles to the French in two versions. One version is a carbine with an 11-inch barrel. The other version is a standard model with a 14.5-inch barrel. Delivery of the rifles began in 2017.
Aimpoint CompM5
Here’s a quick rundown of the features the French Army, Navy and Air Force soldiers can expect on the Aimpoint CompM5, which was launched last fall.
- Mountable on MIL-STD 1913 Rail system/Picatinny rail
- Advanced optical lenses with a protective front window
- High, AAA battery compartment
- Compatible with every generation of NVD
- 2 MOA dot for close combat and long distance engagement
- Matches perfectly with Aimpoint® 3XMag-1 and 6XMag-1 magnifiers
- Excellent light transmission
- Extremely robust housing design, same ruggedness as the CompM4 sights with less weight
- Submersible to a depth of 45 m (150 ft)
- Mount base is keyed into to the body of the sight to absorb recoil
- Weight 238 g (8.4 oz) standard configuration, sight only 148 g (5.2 oz)
- ACET technology allows 50,000 hours (over 5 years) of constant operation with one battery
- 4 NVD settings and 6 daylight settings
- Mechanical switch for speed and reliability
