Mysterious operation: Denmark purchases Colt Canada’s new gun to replace HK417 just for cheaper?

Recently, the Danish Ministry of Defense announced the purchase of Colt Canada’s C20 Precision Marksman Rifle (DMR) as a new semi-automatic sniper rifle, which will be delivered in early 2021.

Denmark named this rifle Finskyttegevaer Kort (FINSKGV K), which means "short precision rifle". The most incomprehensible thing is that the C20 DMR will replace the Heckler-Koch HK417S sniper rifle currently in service in the Danish Army. This is the C20 DMR photo used by the Danish Ministry of Defense when the news was announced, but they said that this is not the final configuration state of the Danish Army.

Og Indkøbsstyrelse, the department responsible for the procurement of weapons and equipment of the Danish Ministry of Defense, issued a statement on the social platform, announcing that the C20 DMR was purchased to replace the active HK417S (pictured). The latter is close to the end of life because of the long equipment time. However, choosing a new gun that has been unveiled for less than two years and replacing the very mature HK417S does seem a bit confusing.

The Danish Ministry of Defense stated that in the fall of 2019, the sample guns that participated in the bidding were tested with live ammunition in Borris and Ulfborg. After listening to the shooter's feedback and the test results, it was finally determined that Colt Canada's C20 DMR won.

In August 2019, the Canadian Army announced the purchase of 300 C20 rifles as part of the "Canada Sniper System" project, which aims to find suitable firearms for snipers, rather than precision shooters in the team. In the end, the C20 passed the Canadian military's test and complied with relevant NATO standards, including extreme conditions and life tests. During the entire test, C20 fired a total of 8,000 ammunition without any malfunction. The barrel length of the

C20 rifle is 18 inches (457mm), but the 16-inch (406) version may be selected in the future. Four rifling, winding distance 1:10. Colt Canada said that the C20 shooting accuracy is very good. In a set of five rounds, a total of 144 sets were conducted, with an average accuracy of 0.66 MOA. All accuracy tests use federal gold medal 175 grain competition ammunition, cold gun firing, and silencer.

C20 adopts automatic airway, equipped with LMT patented integral upper receiver. There is a full-length Picatinny rail on the top, and M-LOK universal interface on the handguard. Equipped with Geissele SSA two fire triggers, LMT DMR telescopic buttstock and American defense company bipod. The gun can be equipped with OSS QD7.62 and ASTUR silencer. It has not been disclosed what type of sight the Canadian military will equip for the C20. However, through the test photos, it can be seen that the C20 is equipped with a Schmidt-Bender PM II scope.

can be seen from the test report of the Canadian military that the C20 rifle does have outstanding performance in terms of performance. The Danish military stated that the C20 had the highest shooting accuracy and the highest score for user quality during the test. FINSKGV K will be equipped with a carrying system, magazine bag and accessory bag, which can be flexibly selected according to the needs of each unit. This new rifle will be mainly equipped with snipers from the Light Infantry Force (LINF) and National Guard special patrol units.