The photos above and below were recently published in the UK Ministry Of Defense’s Defense Focus magazine. They show British reservists serving in Afghanistan providing protection for senior diplomats and military officers. What is interesting is that they are carrying the elusive L119 carbine. This is the carbine said to be favored by British SAS and other special forces. All the previous photos I have seen of this gun “in the wild” have been low resolution images of special forces (with every face blurred or blacked out).

The L119 is a variant of the Colt Canada C8 CQB with a 10″ barrel and enlarged magwell. The rifles in the picture appear different from the L119A1 version. Either they are entirely new weapons (L119A2 or L119A3) or they are L119A1 carbines with an upgraded upper receiver. They are using Magpul magazines and ACOG 4x (TA31) scopes with Killflash tubes and a RMR red dot sight mounted on top.

It is a nice piece of kit and perfectly suited to the type of VIP protection that involves constantly getting in and out of vehicles.

Thanks to Jonathan Ferguson and Trevor Weston for looking into the carbine’s offical designation for us.