HK to upgrade British SA80 rifles - again.

[Slater]

I suppose an all-new rifle is out of the question - for now:

"The upgrades will incorporate a new Foregrip, an improved upper receiver, and extra safety features"

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...ritish-sa80a3/

[mack7.62]

Good money after bad, previous upgrade contract was $105 million to upgrade 50,000 rifles or $2100 each, bet you can buy a nice M416 for that much money.

[The_War_Wagon]

I thought the SA-80's role was largely ceremonial these days - Buckingham Palace guards and whatnot. SURELY they're not still issuing those to troops in the field!?

[sundance435]

"Extra safety features"? They could've equipped their entire force with 2 SCARs or 416s each with the money they've spent on "upgrades" alone.

[mack7.62]

Yeah but then they would have to admit they made a mistake. Much easier to spent taxpayer $$ on band aids.

[sgtrock82]

Extra safety features?! Like a hole drilled into the chamber, some yellow paint marks and "DP"* etched on the receiver

*Drill Purpose

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[SteyrAUG]

This is a rails, bells and whistles upgrade, not another attempt to improve performance.

[Arik]

Extra safety features?! Like a hole drilled into the chamber, some yellow paint marks and "DP"* etched on the receiver

*Drill Purpose

Sent from my SM-J727T using Tapatalk

[26 Inf]

This is a great line:

Nicknamed the Civil Servant by troops, because “it doesn’t work ... and it can’t be fired”

https://www.militarytimes.com/off-du...-96m-makeover/

The SAS can select any firearms they want to fulfill their missions, but they refuse to use the SA80. The Royal Marines in Afghanistan are also swapping the SA80 for the Canadian-made C8 Diemaco, a version of the Colt M-16A3.

Further, the SA80 is a failure as an export weapon. Only Bolivia and Jamaica purchased it, meaning the British government never recouped the rifle’s considerable development costs.

So what about replacing the SA80 with something else? Well, a counterargument is that the Brits have spent so much money on upgrades already, getting rid of the rifle now would be economically and politically disastrous.

So it looks like the SA80 is here to stay in the British Army for at least a few more years — a rifle whose worst critics say was “designed by the incompetent, issued by the uncaring, and carried by the unfortunate.”

https://warisboring.com/the-lads-don...-battle-rifle/

[Firefly]

I get what they were trying to do but the rifle is simply junk.

Just get Colt Canada M4s or HK416s and call it a day