The impasse in the United States was dispiriting for Mr. Mauch and his 30-odd colleagues at Armatix, who are split between the headquarters and a production facility near Jena, in eastern Germany. It’s there that the company set up machinery capable of churning out thousands of smart guns. It did an initial run of 5,000 pieces, a “limited edition,” says Mr. Mauch, destined for the U.S. market and now sitting idle. The project has already cost the company’s financial backer millions of euros.
Mr. Mauch is developing a larger, 9-mm calibre smart gun more suited to law-enforcement personnel, dubbed the iP9. It will be able to operate in both “smart” and “conventional” modes, he said, and will be able to communicate information on when and where it is fired.
Mr. Mauch is hoping police departments in the United States will give it a try. In early 2015, he’ll travel to various cities on a trip organized by a group called the Metro Industrial Areas Foundation, a network of multifaith, community-based organizations. Law-enforcement officials “will understand that he’s serious and knows what he’s talking about. He respects police greatly,” said Rabbi Joel Mosbacher, who is leading Metro IAF’s gun-safety initiative.
via German-designed ‘smart’ guns rerouted after cultural backlash in U.S. – The Globe and Mail.
The beginning of the article is a tale of woe about how Mr. Mauch did not see criticism for his initial gun coming. Of course we evil American gun owners were responsible for his failure to understand the market:
For Mr. Mauch back in Germany, it was a bewildering disaster. Ordinary Americans, he felt, would understand the value of the product. But “the John Wayne-type guys, they always want to have the gun ready to kill,” he says, putting his hand on his hip to simulate drawing a weapon. “They feel – what I don’t understand – so threatened.”
And now he doubles down on stupid by building a gun aimed for cops who to a man will not only not accept it but will make sure there is a law passed at the federal level exempting them from Smart Gun regulations citing safety issues…such as the gun probability of failure when needed the most.
Oh well, if Mr Mauch has that many million Eurobucks available for wasting, go ahead. I am sure once bankruptcy is declared, HK will give you a job, just not in marketing.
Oh I hate this guy.
It’s hard to find the right words to describe this person in german – I won’t even try it in english ^^
Beeing a gunsmith trained in Suhl, I’ve seen this guy a few times in the past – once he even tried (read: was stupid enough) to promote his product (the stupid barrel lock) at our school.
I think we left him traumatized – afaik he never set a foot again in a room full of gunsmiths :p
But he always finds some stupid and/or corrupt politicians.
One more failure… And this one will be even MORE spectacular… He doesn’t understand, and seems not want to, the American mentality…
No, let’s keep this guy away from H&K. They’ve finally gotten away from hating us.
I do not think that Glock has much to worry about from this competitor.
Maybe time to buy another G17 Gen 4. just as spare.
The guy already spent 27 years at H&K. Left n 2005.
There’s hope for them yet!
Kind of explains things.
Let Mr. Mauch sell his wonder pistols to the police in Europe. If they are so great, we can look at letting our police use them in about 10 years.
I’d like to go on record(and I’m sure everyone here agrees with me, really) that I don’t object to Armatix trying to sell a gun that refuses to work if you don’t have the right bracelet on your wrist when you try to fire it.
I think it’s a stupid idea. I wouldn’t own the thing because it’s uglier than a Glock and I like my guns the way I like my women(low-maintenance), but they’re free to try and sell it.
And they’re free to lose a lot of money and prove just how stupid the idea is.