In recent weeks we’ve examined how the UK has procured various 7.62x39mm AK-pattern rifles for use in training Ukrainian troops in the UK. The latest video and photographs from the training the UK is providing show that alongside the previously identified AK variants [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…]
The world is full of stories and photographs, and in TFB’s Photo Of The Day, you can check these stories every day, every minute, all year round. Get to know a subject better or get inspiration. Today we have photographs from the British Army. Above you see a sniper [Read More…]
It’s 1968, the Cold War has gone hot and you’re a British soldier somewhere in northwest Germany. The 3rd Shock Army is coming straight at you and you’re trying to decide if the Soviet motor rifle regiment infantry attacking your defensive position is [Read More…]
The British Army have selected the Thermis CS thermal imaging system to fulfil their requirement for a Sniper In-Line Low Light System or SILLS. The contract was awarded following an international tender and is worth up to $11.5 million. The initial order is for 500 [Read More…]
The UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment Sales Authority recently released a booklet containing arms and equipment which is to be sold off and disposed. This includes SIG Sauer pistols, FN light machine guns, aircraft, armoured vehicles and a large ship! The [Read More…]
At the recent Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI 2021) exposition in London, the British Army showed off its new future soldier concept. Developed under the program name ‘TommyWorks’ the UK’s land forces are looking to develop a more [Read More…]
A few weeks ago while doing some research in the UK’s Imperial War Museum online archive I came across a couple of intriguing photos that sent me down a rabbit hole. The STEN gun is undeniably one of the iconic weapons of World War Two but most of its variants [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…]
Today’s Photo of the Day sees US troops stationed in Poland get to grips with some British small arms. Men from two cavalry regiments – one British, one American, took part in a familiarisation exercise at Bemowo Piskie, in Poland, on 30th April 2020. The [Read More…]
The US Army, US Marine Corps and British Army are collaborating on developing new lightweight small arms ammunition. In recent years there has been an increasing interest in hybrid ammunition, especially those using polymer case components. Todd Townsend, supervisor of [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…]
Today’s Photo Of The Day displays a British Army Soldier using his SA80 for covering fire in Afghanistan. You can see his fellow soldiers in the background. The SA80 has the SA80 Underslung Grenade Launcher (UGL) mounted, which consist of a Heckler & Koch [Read More…]
Today’s Picture Of The Day is the British “EM-2“, in the rain. It is also known under the names as the “Janson rifle (EM2)” or the “Rifle No.9 Mk1”, and almost looks like it has a pump action. The EM-2 was an experimental rifle, [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…]
The British Army’s official Twitter account shared an interesting photo of the pipe rifle range at NATO’s base in Kabul showing ‘newly arrived’ troops zeroing their rifles. The Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) Pipe Range is part of [Read More…]
There have been some significant changes to the British Army’s small arms load out in recent months with the announcement that the long mooted removal of the FN Minimi, 60mm Mortar and L86 Light Support Weapon from service was official. The British Army is now [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…]
Today’s photo features two British bullpups, the L85A2 and the Rifle No.9 Mk1, better known as the E.M. 2. The E.M. 2 was briefly adopted by the British Army in 1951, but a combination of national and international political wrangling saw it soon abandoned [Read More…]
The Ferguson rifle has been seen by some as an extraordinary design that could have changed the course of history and by others as a mechanical complexity that never would have worked in the real world conditions that the British infantry would have found themselves in. When it comes to either [Read More…]
The British Army is set to refinish its infantry weapons with flat dark earth cerakote to better match its multi-terrain pattern uniforms. The move comes as the SA80A3/L85A3, currently being introduced, already sports the new colour scheme. The British Army’s [Read More…]
The British Army has announced some major changes to its infantry small arms. Confirming that it will drop the FN Para Minimi or L110A3 at the fire team level. Additionally, the M6-640 60mm mortar will also be phased out and the L86A2 light support weapon will also be [Read More…]
Riflemen from the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles have proved their skills during the British Army’s annual Army Operational Shooting Competition at the historic Bisley ranges. Shooting teams from across the British Army took part in the competition. The [Read More…]
On the 11th April, the British Ministry of Defence announced the official adoption of the newly updated L85A3. I covered this several weeks ago, discussing in-depth the changes made to the rifles, but the Press Release offers some new details. The SA80 or L85 is being [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…]
The British Army is set to move away from its use of the FN Para Minimi or L110A2/A3 at the fire team level. During a seminar at the 2018 Future Soldier Technology conference, held in London 12th-14th March, the CO of the British Army’s Infantry Trials and [Read More…]
After World War II, the UK sought to modernize its small arms, many of which were based on designs originating from before the First World War. For its medium machine gun, the British were still using the reliable but increasingly obsolete Vickers water cooled gun in [Read More…]
LMT introduced the MARS-L for the civilian market in the United States this year. The MARS-L is essentially the same model that has recently been adopted by the Armed Forces of New Zealand, but without the selector switch capability. LMT also showed off their PDW carbine as well. The PDW was [Read More…]