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…]
What do you get when you combine what’s widely regarded as one of the best rifle operating mechanisms ever invented, an innovative and promising concept, and a factory with over 150 years of history making some of the finest small arms in the world? If you said [Read More…]
British Army Photographers posted up some videos of soldiers training in CQB and CQM. Here is the CQM (Close Quarters Marksmanship). The soldiers appear to be using SA80 bullpups, Benelli M4 shotguns and Sig Sauer pistols. In this CQB video one soldier is using [Read More…]
The Australian Army is evaluating an over the shoulder weapon support system called Reaper. The system is very simple. In fact it is a modified camera stabilizer. Here is a similar concept by Easyrig. The concept is either a chest rig or backpack system that has [Read More…]
The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) sent their Action Shooting Team to train the British Army Combat Action Shooting Team. Here is a video of the BACST showing off what they learned in a 3Gun style action stage. They are using the SA80 and what looks like a Glock 17. [Read More…]
I’m a firm proponent of Micro red dot optics. They’re lightweight, unobtrusive, and provide an excellent aiming solution. I’ll use them on rifles, shotguns, handguns, doesn’t matter. I like the simple process of putting a dot on target and [Read More…]
While on my trip in the UK, I came across the L118 Light Gun. It is a 105mm caliber howitzer. In Liverpool, Army Recruiters had one on display. According to the info sheet above: The versatile 105mm Light Gun is towed by a medium-weight vehicle. It can also be carried [Read More…]
Prince Harry, aka Captain Harry Wales, was training with the Australian Defense Forces. This video was released on Friday by the British Monarchy on Facebook. Click that link to watch a higher resolution version. Here are some screen shots from the video. Captain [Read More…]