The Heckler & Koch HK416 is a short-stroke, external piston assault rifle (yes, that’s a real word) famed for its durability and reliability. First pitched as a replacement for the M4 carbine after it experienced issues when pressed into hard combat, Big Army passed on the HK416 for the improved M4A1.
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Special operations units, however, have more flexible funding. Outfits like Delta Force and DEVGRU adopted the rifle and made use of its over-the-beach capability (the ability to fire immediately after being submerged in water).
Outside the U.S., the HK416 has been widely adopted by special operations units worldwide, including the German KSK and KSM. Norway’s military was the first to adopt it as a standard issue rifle in 2007. Surprisingly, France adopted the HK416 in 2017 as its first foreign-made standard-issue rifle.
Initially adopted in 2011 as the M27 to replace the M249 SAW, the U.S. Marine Corps started replacing M4s for infantry squads with the HK416 in 2019.
While Heckler & Koch has evolved the HK416 since its introduction, some people may not realize that the rifle has two descendants that were developed to improve on the original.
H&K’s primary engineer on the HK416 project, Robert Hirt, later worked for SIG Sauer. Wanting a rifle to compete with the HK416, SIG Sauer tasked Hirt and another engineer, Chris Sirois, with building on HK’s design. The result was the SIG516.
Is the SIG 100 better than the HK416? Well, one issue with the original H&K was its forward-venting gas system. To reduce the rifle’s visual signature, the SIG516 used a non-venting gas system.
Another problem with the HK416 that H&K loves is its proprietary nature. Replacement parts and accessories need to either come from H&K or be made specifically for the HK416. Instead, the SIG516 utilized more commonly available AR-15 parts in its bolt carrier group. SIG also lowered its top rail (which the HK416 raised to accommodate the external piston gas system) and reduced the rate of fire to improve the rifle’s service life.
The SIG516 saw limited adoption by military and law enforcement users, though the 7.62x51mm SIG716 was adopted in large numbers by the Indian Army. Hirt and Sirois later designed the SIG MCX, the SPEAR variant of which was adopted by the U.S. Army in 6.8x51mm as the M7 (originally XM5) rifle. SIG has since updated the SIG516 with the G3 variant. But both engineers went on to design one more direct descendant of the HK416.
The HK416’s proprietary nature is a potential issue for prospective adopters. The United Arab Emirates was concerned about importing any parts when its military was looking for a new rifle. Rather than be dependent on a foreign country and at the mercy of arms export bans, the UAE opted to set up domestic production of its own rifle.
Hiring Hirt, Sirois, and teams of other engineers from around the world, the Emirati manufacturer Caracal set up a design and manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi to create the CAR 816.
With the same external piston gas system and over-the-beach capabilities as the HK416 and SIG516, interested buyers have to ask, “What makes the Caracal 400 better than the H&K?”
To start with, the CAR 816 features the most interchangeability with a standard M4. Small militaries and civilian users can source commercially available replacement parts to keep their CAR 816s operational. The Caracal also uses a tungsten powder buffer to smooth out recoil and reduce bolt carrier bounce, though standard AR buffers still work. While it has seen limited adoption outside the UAE, the CAR 816’s most attractive attribute is its price.
On the commercial market, the SIG516 G3 sells for $2,000, and the MR556 A4 (a neutered version of the HK416, because H&K hates you) easily goes for over $3,000. The CAR 816 costs less than $2,000. For civilian shooters who want the engineering and benefits of the HK416 but don’t need the internet clout of the H&K logo, the Caracal CAR 816 and SIG516 offer competitive options with their own benefits over the original.
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