Aikibiker
Member
That's right the rifle every British soldier loves to hate is gonig to be "improved" yet again.
http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=92352004
http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=92352004
Jinxed SA80 rifle goes back for yet another refit
BRIAN BRADY
WESTMINSTER EDITOR
THE army’s ‘jinxed’ SA80 rifle is to undergo another costly refit less than three years after £92m was spent overhauling the weapon, writes Brian Brady.
The Iraq war revealed a recurring problem with the rifle’s safety mechanism that could have cost British troops their lives.
Despite assurances that the SA80 was fit for use in desert environments, soldiers on several occasions released the safety catch only to find they still could not fire.
Several weapons had to be modified in the field with a new safety catch component, and now every one of the British force’s 200,000 SA80s will need the same modification.
Ministers have consistently resisted calls to abandon the SA80, which has been dogged by complaints since it was first introduced as the military’s general-issue personal rifle 19 years ago. Servicemen and women across the three forces have complained that the original SA80 was difficult to clean and continually jammed, particularly in "extreme conditions" such as the heat and dust of deserts.
Armed forces minister Adam Ingram said: "Work has been undertaken on the safety catch/plunger, and following successful trials of a revised safety plunger, a contract will be let shortly to procure a sufficient quantity to modify all weapons."