Why was the HK G11 invented?

Answer 1

The Heckler & Koch G11 assault rifle was developed by small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch and chemicals company Dynamit Nobel to study the use of caseless ammunition in modern firearms. For most of the 20th century, firearms fired cartridges consisting of a bullet, shell casing, primer, and propellant. Heckler & Koch sought to remove the case from the equation, which would save weight, which is essential on the battlefield. Additionally, caseless firearms do not require an extracting and ejecting stage, simplifying the firing process. The G11 program was successful in that it created an assault rifle with very light ammunition (a soldier could carry twice the number of rounds of the G11's caseless 4.73x33mm ammunition as he could 5.56x45mm in the same weight), and very high capacity. One of the obstacles overcome during the development was the problem of cookoff. In cased ammunition, the casing acts as a heatsink and draws heat away from the weapon when it is ejected. As caseless firearms lack the ejection stage, heat buildup in the chamber can cause rounds to prematurely fire. Heckler & Koch and Dynamit Nobel overcame this problem with a very stable solid propellant. The G11 was also submitted to the West German and United States military commands as a possible replacement for existing service rifles. However, the end of the Cold War and the high cost of the G11 meant that it would never enter active service.