In 2015, the Royal Bermuda Regiment began to field the British L85A2 bullpup. Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory and is one of several territories to have its own British Army-affiliated home defence regiment. The regiment’s transition to the L85A2 was completed [Read More…]
The UK is currently providing basic infantry training to up to 10,000 Ukrainian troops. We have already covered the UK’s procurement of AK-pattern rifles to train Ukrainian personnel but in this article, we will look at how Ukrainian troops have also been training [Read More…]
Have you taken your vitamins today? As you know vitamins have several important functions for our bodies. Some say they are almost as important as a daily dose of TFB’s Photo Of The Day, and we agree of course. Today we have some cracking pictures from the Royal [Read More…]
TFB’s Photo Of The Day tries to push the excellent work done by so many photographers around the World and in the firearms industry. It’s a celebration to those who go in harm’s way trying to catch special moments like the one above. You can almost feel and hear [Read More…]
Photo Of The Day: Last year this blog pumped out one POTD per day, with a few exceptions for public holidays. We intend to continue doing so in 2022, and as you most likely discovered, we already got started. Today we have pictures of Welsh Guards. For more information [Read More…]
Photo Of The Day: Today we have some great reference pictures of the SA80 A2, as used by the United Kingdom. Above, pictured in an armoury is the SA80 A2 (L85A2) 5.56mm Rifle fitted with the ELCAN SpecterOS 4x and Close Quarter Battlesight (CQB). From the original [Read More…]
Photo Of The Day and we have a pleasant mixture of firearms from various NATO countries taken at the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Latvia. Above you have a great image of the SA80 A2 Individual Weapon, with a trigger-happy British soldier. Italian [Read More…]
Founded in 1915 The Welsh Guards (in Welsh: Gwarchodlu Cymreig) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Today the Regiment is a single Battalion equipped and trained for Light Infantry operations, with mainly Welshmen serving. Modern history operations include [Read More…]
Once again our Photo Of The Day takes us to The Falklands, where members of the Falkland Islands Defence Force (FIDF) have been improving their marksmanship skills with expert coaching from members of Support Company, Coldstream Guards. Above you can see their SA80 [Read More…]
Jonathan Ferguson’s new book on British bullpup rifles is one I’ve been waiting a long time for. Five years ago I wrote my Master’s thesis on the development of the early Cold War British bullpup rifle, the E.M.2, and the politics which engulfed it. It’s [Read More…]
Last August we reported that the British Army was planning to make the move away from Heckler & Koch’s HKey (KeyMod) accessory attachment system to the M-LOK system with the ‘new’ SA80 A3. At the time our report was based on information from [Read More…]
It appears that a year after the introduction of the newly upgraded SA80 A3 the British Army is introducing a series of small but significant tweaks to improve weapons handling. The changes come following user feedback on the SA80 A3 / L85A3 rifles which have been [Read More…]
In November 2018, we reported that the British Army was set to receive up to 44,000 upgraded L85A3/SA80A3s over the next 5 years. The contract was reported to be worth £75 million or $95.6 million. It has now been announced, by Heckler & Koch, that a contract has [Read More…]
The British Army is set to receive up to 44,000 upgraded L85A3/SA80A3s over the next four to five years. Jane’s 360 Infantry Weapons reports that the UK Ministry of Defence are moving forward with a large contract with Heckler & Koch to upgrade a substantial [Read More…]
The British Army has launched a new bi-annual newsletter, In Front, as part of its push to keep soldiers and the public more informed about what they do. Inside the first issue is a round up of the British Army’s recent small arms changes. In Front confirms that [Read More…]
Today’s photo features a mysterious suppressed British L85/SA80. It appears to be using a Surefire SOCOM suppressor, we can see Surefire’s ‘Fast-Attach’ mounting system at the rear, which would require Surefire’s proprietary muzzle device. [Read More…]
The British Army have begun issuing the newly upgraded SA80A3, the Grenadier Guards are the first regiment to receive the newly refitted bullpups. News of the upgrade to the British Army’s L85/SA80 first emerged back in 2016, but it appears the rifles are about [Read More…]
At this years Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exposition in London Heckler & Koch have brought along their Mid Life Improvement of the British military’s SA80. The first images of the L85A3 appeared last summer. But some photos from the [Read More…]
I’ve had more than one e-mail from our dear readers on why I continue to write up Forgotten Weapons’ L85 Series. Outside the complaints of repetitiveness, the complaint that struck as the reason why I am publishing them came out – that no one wants to [Read More…]
Often more fascinating than the weapons developed is the history of developing weapons. In almost all cases, weapons are frought with initial troubles, constantly moving mechanical targets, and perhaps most trouble – politics. While today’s politics is well [Read More…]
Larry Vickers posted this on his Facebook page. It is an E Mag for the British SA80. Not too common around here in the US. Pretty cool for you Magpul fans.
German newspaper Tagesschau.de published this photo of a Bolivian special forces solider carrying a SA80 rifle. Bolivia is only one of two users of SA80 outside of Britain, the other being Jamaica. The solider in the above photo looks a lot less frightening than the [Read More…]
I was surprised to learn that Bolivian police use the British SA80 assault rifle. This makes Bolivia the only other country aside from the UK and Jamaica to make use of the SA80. The below photo shows members of the now disbanded Bolivian special police Unit for the [Read More…]
Prexis plans on selling a US made kit version of the Enfield L85 / SA80. The PL85 kit contains all the parts needed to build the rifle. The catch? The lower receiver which will require bending into shape. I have no word on pricing or when this kit will be on sale. Refer [Read More…]
The United Kingdom has selected the Knight’s Armament Company KS-1 as the new individual weapon for the new Ranger battalions and elements of the Royal Marines Commandos. The requirement for the new rifle was released back in August 2021. The UK’s Project [Read More…]
Photo Of The Day and we have the British Armed Forces’ new Anti-Drone Weapon Sight on display. To battle drones, there has been an initial order of 225 SMASH sights, which will be delivered to units across the British Army by the end of this year (2023). The [Read More…]
The British Army has announced the selection of the SmartShooter SMASH Smart Weapon Sight Fire Control System for countering drones/UAVs. An initial order for 225 SMASH Smart Weapon Sights has been placed with the contract valued at $4.6 million or $5.8 million. [Read More…]
Welcome to TFB’s Photo Of The Day! Today’s selection features a lot of snow and cold, and a furry beast. In terms of firearms, we have the Heckler & Koch HK416N, the SA80 in full winter camouflage and most likely an M4 carbine. From NATO‘s Facebook [Read More…]
Welcome everyone to the TFB Armorer’s Bench! As mentioned in the little blurb below, this series will focus on a lot of home armorer and gunsmith activities. In this article, I decided to do another show-and-tell sort of Armorer’s Bench article. This one will [Read More…]
The year 2022 started with a bang and TBF’s Photo Of The Day has never been so diversified. Today we have Lantac UK‘s picture of their Battle Raven LA-M4, which is said to be using completely new alloys that deliver a 14% strength gain combined with an 8% [Read More…]
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