all of which really means nothing.
The fact that H&K is taking on a 'partner' is the biggest sign of the future of the XM8 rifle.
If you had a line on the next US military rifle that would be produced in the hundreds of thousands, resulting in millions of dollars of revenue, would you want to share a piece of that huge pie with another company?
US Army would not be comfortable with just a single source for such a weapons program.