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Charlie · 03-16-2003, 06:43 PM

Defence officials debate future of SA-80 rifle
Staff and agencies
Tuesday September 17, 2002
The Guardian

Defence officials today insisted no decision has yet been made over the future of the troubled SA-80 assault rifle in spite of reports that it will not scrap the gun.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said a report that it is on the verge of announcing that it will keep the rifle was "speculative" and that a report on the weapon was not likely to be published until the end of next week.

He said: "We have always said that we have been testing it in stringent battlefield conditions using weapons experts in conjunction with the manufacturers so that we can compare maintenance procedures."

The tests on the rifle have followed complaints that the upgraded SA-80 A2 version jammed and misfired in dusty desert conditions during operations in Afghanistan.

Officials had blamed the failure of the rifle in the field on problems with cleaning.

In June 2000 the defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, announced a £92m upgrade of the rifle. It has been beset by problems since it entered service in 1988 and has been upgraded several times.
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IT'S REPLACEMENT, CURRENTLY IN USE

[ 03-16-2003, 06:44 PM: Message edited by: Charlie ]

03-16-2003, 06:43 PM	#1
Charlie Lord Ao Join Date: March 3, 2001 Location: London, England Age: 31 Posts: 2,023	Defence officials debate future of SA-80 rifle Staff and agencies Tuesday September 17, 2002 The Guardian Defence officials today insisted no decision has yet been made over the future of the troubled SA-80 assault rifle in spite of reports that it will not scrap the gun. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said a report that it is on the verge of announcing that it will keep the rifle was "speculative" and that a report on the weapon was not likely to be published until the end of next week. He said: "We have always said that we have been testing it in stringent battlefield conditions using weapons experts in conjunction with the manufacturers so that we can compare maintenance procedures." The tests on the rifle have followed complaints that the upgraded SA-80 A2 version jammed and misfired in dusty desert conditions during operations in Afghanistan. Officials had blamed the failure of the rifle in the field on problems with cleaning. In June 2000 the defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, announced a £92m upgrade of the rifle. It has been beset by problems since it entered service in 1988 and has been upgraded several times. . . . . . . . . . IT'S REPLACEMENT, CURRENTLY IN USE [ 03-16-2003, 06:44 PM: Message edited by: Charlie ]