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In this episode, we're taking a look at the G36 platform - namely, the G36C and MG36.

The G36, or 'Gewehr sechs-und-dreißig' hails from Germany - designed and manufactured by Heckler und Koch.
The G36 platform was designed in the early 1990s, entered production in 1996 - and in 1997, was adopted by the Bundeswehr.
The G36C made its first appearance in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and returned in Modern Warfare 3.
The C stands for Compact - as it's a subcarbine-length variant of the G36 rifle.
The MG36 is the Light Support Weapon variant, with a heavier barrel and bipod making it more suitable for sustained fire.
It made its debut appearance in Modern Warfare 3.

The G36 platform replaced the G3 rifle in service with the Bundeswehr, which was introduced in 1959.
The G3 was originally a Spanish design, namely the CETME rifle, named for the establishment who designed the weapon - the 'Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales', or Centre for Technical Studies of Special Materials.
The CETME and later G3 rifles both fire 7.62mm NATO rounds - and as such are classified as battle rifles, in the same category as the FN FAL.
The 1970s saw a transition towards intermediate calibres, and so there was a growing desire to replace the G3.
The G11 was intended to be West Germany's new service rifle - a unique design using caseless 4.73mm ammunition.
Sadly, the project was scuppered during the political changes during the German reunification, and the G11 didn't see widespread adoption.
During this time, H&K offered a couple of rifles in the NATO intermediate calibre - the HK33, developed in the 1960s, was essentially a smaller version of the G3 rifle intended for export.
The G41 was a more modern version, introduced in 1981 - but neither this nor the HK33 were deemed suitable replacements for the G3, and instead were bound solely for export.

The newly united Germany had a desperate need for a new 5.56mm assault rifle, and in 1990 H&K would embark on 'Project 50' - what would eventually become the G36.
In trials, the G36 would face off against the Austrian AUG - but the native rifle won out, and was adopted in 1997.
The G36's magazine design is similar to that seen on the SIG 550 - translucent polymer box mags, with studs on either side, allowing magazines to be clipped together.
Standard capacity is 30-rounds, although for the MG36 there exist 100-round C-Mag type drum magazines.
Cyclic rate of fire is 750 rounds per minute across all variants.
The original G36 weighs in at 3.63 kilograms: The G36C is considerably lighter, at 2.82 kilograms; and the MG36's heavier barrel brings the platform to 3.83 kilograms.
Overall length, again, depends on variant: The original G36 and the MG36 are a shade shy of a metre, at 999 millimetres - while the G36C is considerably shorter, at 720 millimetres.
In addition to the rifle's adoption by the Bundeswehr, the rifle is used by many other forces all over the world - including the Hellenic Armed Forces, Latvian Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces, the Spanish Army and Navy, and the SAS - and many police forces, too - including the German Bundespolizei, Australian Operational Response Group, Brazilian Federal Police, Finnish Border Guard and Police, National Police of Iceland, Mexican Federal Police, UK's Metropolitan Police Service, and the United States Capitol Police.

The G36 platform extends to a number of variants - some intended for export, such as the G36V, or 'Variant', produced for Spain and Latvia.
The MG36 was the light support weapon variant of the platform, although this version is now discontinued.
The G36K - Kurz, meaning short - is a shortened carbine version of the rifle: somewhere in-between the G36 and G36C.

The more recent G36A2 is an updated version of the platform, equipped with a quick-detachable red dot sight on a Picatinny rail.
There exist a couple of civilian models, too - the SL8 semi-automatic rifle, and R8 straight-pull bolt-action.
Unlike the G36, these variants have a thumbhole stock, and some models will accept only single-stack 10-round capacity magazines.

H&K also have their eye on American military contracts - and the G36 platform has formed the basis of their proposals for infantry weapon systems.
The XM8 rifle is essentially a dressed-up G36 action, offered for the US Objective Individual Combat Weapon contract in 2003.
However, in 2005 the OICW contract was cancelled, with the XM8 project following suit.
The HK416 was a similar attempt to break the American market, this time competing for the Individual Carbine contract, seeking a replacement for the M4.
Competition is ongoing, and the HK416 remains in the contest - with the rifle's gas system derived directly from the G36, adapted for use on the AR-15 platform.