October 18, 2001. Copyright 2001. Graphic News. All rights reserved. British troops to get Òmost reliable rifle in the worldÓ LONDON, October 18, Graphic News: The British ArmyÕs SA-80 rifle, whose reliability came into question when it repeatedly jammed in battle between British forces and rebels in Sierra Leone last year, has undergone modifications and passed field trials with flying colours, the Armed Forces Minister, Adam Ingram, announced today. Some 200,000 rifles, the standard infantry weapon of the British Army, are being upgraded at a cost of £92 million ($125 million) to prevent jamming in extreme weather conditions. ÒAs a result of the modifications the SA-80 A2 is one of, if not the most reliable 5.56mm rifle in the world,Ó Ingram said. ÒThe trials were designed to push the weapons to the very limit of their endurance, and IÕm delighted to say that the SA-80 A2 passed with flying colours.Ó The modifications are not before time. Ever since the British Army adopted the SA-80 weapon family in 1985 -- the Individual Weapon (IW) and Light Support Weapon (LSW) -- it has been disliked by troops. In fact, British special forces are not expected to use the SA-80, and usually choose the U.S.-made M-16, or the German-manufactured Heckler & Koch MP-5 instead. The result of a prolonged development programme that can be traced back to the 1970s, when it was first introduced as a 4.85mm calibre alternative to the standard NATO 7.62mm rifle, the SA-80 finally emerged as a 5.56mm weapon, described by some as Òon a par with a horse designed by a committee.Ó The first five years of its service life were disastrous. It was not until production was moved to a new, computer-controlled factory that reliability began to improve. When British troops put their boots in the sand during the 1990-91 Gulf War they reported that combinations of dust, heat and intensive use resulted in ammunition jams, magazines falling off and components such as the forward handguard, bayonet and bipod coming loose. Travelling teams of army technicians tried numerous work-arounds but trouble persisted. Further experiences in Kosovo and Sierra Leone highlighted the need for a solution, especially when the media learned that some army units operating in Kosovo favoured the bipod-mounted belt-fed 7.62mm General Purpose Machine Gun instead of the LSW -- despite the extra burdens of weight, bulk and additional ammunition. A series of intensive trials carried out in 1996 indicated the basic reason for the troubles. The SA-80 had been designed to use high-quality British-made 5.56mm ammunition manufactured by Royal Ordnance. In action, the SA-80 was expected to use any type of NATO 5.56 ammunition available -- this often varies considerably in the quality of propellant used and manufacturing tolerances. When such ammunition was fired through the SA-80, variations in firing pressures caused weapons to jam. This led to the SA-80 being removed from the NATO Nominated Weapons List. Following the modification of 200 prototype weapons by British-owned Heckler and Koch at the companyÕs subsidiary in Obendorf, Germany, both variants of the SA-80 A2 were subjected to a series of gruelling tests during which over 3 million rounds were fired. The trials were designed to test the A2Õs reliability in a range of challenging climatic conditions. The tests set by the MoD are the toughest reliability criteria imposed by any nation, ranging from use in sand storms in Kuwait in 48 degees centigrade heat, 85 percent humidity in Brunei, to bone-numbing, minus 32-degree temperatures in Alaska. On average, across all of the trials, the IW fired an average of 25,200 rounds before it failed a test known as ÒMean Rounds Between FailureÓ (MRBF), a test designed to replicate ÒtypicalÓ battlefield conditions in which no more than two rounds are expected to jam. The LSW -- which has a much tougher mission requirement -- fired an average of 12,897 rounds before failing MRBF tests. Each rifle has had some £455 ($600) of modifications, mostly ammunition-feed related improvements, including an enlarged ejection port to ensure better removal of spent cases, a new 30-round magazine and a new barrel for the LSW version. The modifications will extend the anticipated SA-80 service life to at least 2015 or even 2020 and, hopefully, it should soon be restored to the NATO Nominated Weapons List. The MoD spokesman said that the first modified SA-80s were expected to be brought back into active service early next year. Major Andrew MacDonald (Princess of Wales Royal Regiment, the head of the trials team, said: ÒIÕm convinced that the SA80 A2 is the best 5.56mm rifle in the world, if there is a better one I havenÕt seen it yet.Ó He added, ÒIf I was going to go to war tomorrow I couldnÕt think of a more reliable and accurate weapon to take with me than the A2. It would certainly be my weapon of choice.Ó /ENDS Sources: UK Ministry of Defence, JaneÕs Defence Weekly