Heckler & Koch Defense has received a $45.4-million US Marine Corps contract modification for additional M27 Infantry Automatic Rifles, raising the overall contract ceiling from $39.23 million to $84.63 million. Funding will be issued through individual task orders. The original 2018 contract covered up to 15,000 rifles and spare parts, with an initial ceiling of $29.42 million. Manufacturing and related work will take place mainly in Oberndorf, Germany, with additional work in Columbus, Georgia. Completion is scheduled for April 27, 2028. The order reinforces the Marine Corps’ decision to retain the M27 for its close combat units, despite the US Army’s shift toward 6.8×51mm weapons under its Next Generation Squad Weapon programme. The Army has selected the M7 and shorter M8 rifles for that effort. A Marine Corps spokesperson confirmed in February 2026 that the service would continue using the M27 based on its operational requirements and modernization plans. Derived from the HK416, the M27 is a gas-operated, short-stroke piston rifle chambered in 5.56mm NATO and fed by 30-round magazines compatible with the M4 and other US small arms. The Marine Corps originally introduced the lightweight, air-cooled weapon in 2010 as a potential replacement for the heavier belt-fed M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. Fielding was completed in 2013. Although the M249 remains in selected roles, the M27 has since expanded across infantry, reconnaissance, and light armored reconnaissance formations.
