SA80 meaning and definition

The British Army's issue service rifle. A poorly researched, badly designed and sloppily constructed weapon, of a layout that generations of designers have been trying to foist on the Army since 1911. The only outstanding point of the weapon is that it is the most expensive battle rifle available. It has been kept on purely for political reasons, rather than because it is a good weapon. But in the halls of Westminster political careers deemed to be worth more than brave men's lives. While the premise of a shorter rifle is laudable, the fact is that this particular 'design' can only be shot from the right shoulder forcing soldiers to shoot from positions without cover thereby putting their lives at greater risk, and negates the British Forces previously unchallenged position as leaders in Urban Operations, (FIBUA/OBUA/MOUT.) It has previously and erroneously been defined and described as "a good overall weapon" and "undoutably the best weapon series in the world today.... stoppages are all attributed to the rounds.... old magazines would rarely jam with 30 rounds. Do not rate this weapon on what the media says, you have to be like me, live with it and use it regularly to know it." It would be interesting to find out what these gentlemen are comparing the SA80 to. I too have lived day in and day out with the SA80, but I've also been issued and had many years experience with a large number of other weapons and know their fortés and foibles, and can speak with a certain degree of authority on the subject.

Colloquial name for the current British service rifle. So good that no other country has bought it (Jamaica and some African country had a few foisted on them as part of an aid package). Although extremely accurate, the balance is all wrong, the older versions were horrifically unreliable, and it is physically impossible to fire it from the left shoulder. It is also one of the heaviest service weapons in current use, at around 2kg heavier than an M16. It is probably also the most expensive service rifle ever, since the unit cost after the recent modification is now over 1000 pounds.

Shoddy Bullpup rifle

The standard series of rifles used by the British Armed Forces. Not actually one weapon but 3 - SA80 IW (Individual Weapon), SA80 LSW (Light Support Weapon), SA80 Cadet GP (Cadet General Purpose). A fairly revolutionary design for its time - the first bullpup that was actually usable. One of the most accurate rifles of the world according to NATO trials. Its proved itself in Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and on various over operations that the British Army has been on. People generally say this rifle is worst then it is. It is now a pleasure to fire. It was very bad with several problems - all sinse have been sorted out. (By H&K) The people who say the gun is bad generally are "armchair operators" and have no actuall experiance.

An extremly modern bullpup rifle that has had a cursed beginning from the start, but in its new incarnation, is probably the best overall gun in the world. the SA80A2 out compeats its nearest contender, the G36, with a higher muzzel velocity, greater range and greater accuracy. the original version was cocked up progressivly by Margret Thatcher (well, what do you expect from a woman?) and experienced a whole truck load of problems that were exaggerated to an extent but have now hopefully been ironed out. having fired both the SA80A2, the G36 and the M16 i would rate it higher than anything the yankees or germans can pull out of their backsides

Another name for the L85A1, the name of the british standard-issue assault rifle.

Assault rifle used by the British Army. Stands for Small Arms for the 1980's. It was produced in the 1980's and is most likely to be taken out of service in 2015. The guns in the SA80 rang are the L85A1, the L86A1 LSW and the L98A1 CGP. They have a round velocity of 900m/s and they use the NATO standard 5.56mm calibre and are fed by a magazine with a capacity of 30 rounds but is filled with 28 to stop jamming. The rifles are made of plastic and are made mass production, hence so many people complain they are "cheap and plasticky", maybe because they are from the 80's. Despite all this it is a good overall weapon.