Heckler & Koch G - 36 The HK G36 is a German assault rifle created by the company Heckler & Koch in 1995 . Description . The Heckler und Koch G - 36 assault rifle had been born as HK - 50 project in early 1990s . The reason behind that project was that the Bundeswehr ( the German army ) , after the cancellation of the G11 and G41 projects , was left with outdated G3 rifle and no modern rifle , compatible with the current NATO standards at hands . Therefore the famous company Heckler & Koch was set to develop a new assault rifle for both German army and the export . The new 5 . 56mm assault rifle has been adopted by the Bundeswehr in the 1995 , and in the 1999 the Spain adopted its slightly different , export version , G36E as its standard infantry rifle . The G36 also found its way into the hands of various law enforcement agencies worldwide , including British police and some US police departments . So far I ' ve heard very few complaints about this rifle , and a lot of good revives and opinions . In fact , the only complaints about G36 that I know are the overheating of the handguards during the sustained fire , and the loose of zero of built in scope on some G36KE rifles , used by US police . Some German soldiers also complained about position of dual optical sights and those sights being easily fogged in bad weather ( rain or snow ) . Otherwise it is a good rifle , accurate , reliable , simple in operations and maintenance , and available in a wide variety of versions - from the short - barreled Commando ( some even said that it ' s a submachine gun ) G36C and up to a standard G36 rifle . The HK MG36 squad automatic weapon ( light machine gun ) , which was initially designed as a heavy - barreled version of the G36 , was in fact a short - lived proposition that never went into mass production . The G36 , in severely modified form , was used as a " kinetic energy " part of the now - cancelled US XM - 29 OICW weapon and it also served as a base for XM8 assault rifle ( also cancelled ) . Techinical Description . From the technical point of view , the G36 is a radical departure from all the previous HK rifles , based on the proven G3 roller - delayed system . The G36 is a conventional gas operated , selective fire rifle , made from most modern materials and using most modern technologies . The receiver and most of the others external parts of the G36 are made from reinforced polymers , with steel inserts where appropriate . The operating system appears to be a modification of the older American Armalite AR - 18 rifle , with short stroke gas piston , located above the barrel , square - shaped bolt carrier and the typical rotating bolt with 7 locking lugs . Of cause , there also are many differences from the AR - 18 . The bolt carrier rides on a single guide rod , with the return spring around it . The charging handle is attached to the top of the bolt carrier and can be rotated to the left or to the right . When not in use , the charging handle aligns itself with the axis of the weapon under the pressure of its own spring , and reciprocates with the bolt group at the top of the receiver . The gas block is fitted with the self - adjustable gas valve that expels all the used gases forward , away from the shooter . The ejection window is located at the right side of the receiver and features a spent cases deflector to propel the ejected cases away from the face of the left - handed shooter . All the major parts are assembled on the receiver using the cross - pins , so rifle can be disassembled and reassembled back without any tools . The typical HK trigger unit is assembled in a separate plastic housing , integral with the pistol grip and the triggerguard . Thanks to this feature , a wide variety of firing mode combinations can be used on any rifle , simply by installing the appropriate trigger unit . Standard options are single shots , full automatic fire , 2 or 3 round bursts in any reasonable combinations . The default version is the single shots + 2 rounds burst + full auto . The ambidextrous fire selector lever also serves as a safety switch . G36 is fed from the proprietary 30 - rounds box magazines , made from translucent plastic . All magazines have special studs on its sides , so two or three magazines can be clipped together for faster reloading . The magazine housings of the G36 are made as a separate parts , so G36 can be easily adjusted to the various magazine interfaces . By the standard , the magazine release catch is located just behind the magazine , in the G3 or AK - 47 style , rather than on the side of the magazine housing ( M16 - style ) . A 100 - round Beta - C dual drum magazines of US origins also can be used ( these magazines are standard for the MG36 squad automatic versions of the G36 ) . The side - folding skeletonized buttstock is standard on all G36 rifles . It folds to the right side and does not interfere with rifle operation when folded . The standard sighting equipment of the G36 consists of the TWO scopes - one 3 . 5X telescope sight below , with the second 1X red - dot sight above it . The sights are completely independent , with the former suitable for long range accurate shooting , and the latter suitable for the fast target acquisition at the short ranges . Both sights are built into the plastic carrying handle . The export versions of the G36 are available with the single 1 . 5X telescope sight , with the emergency open sights molded into the top of the carrying handle . The subcompact G36K Commando version is available with the integral Picatinny - type scope and accessory rail instead of the carrying handle and standard sights . The standard G36 rifles can be fitted with the HK AG36 40mm underbarrel grenade launcher . It also can be fitted with the bayonets . Interestingly enough , G36 uses an AK - 74 - type bayonets , which are left from the now non - existent NVA ( East Germany Army ) stocks