Royal Marine unit ditches army rifle

A high-profile British Royal Marine unit tasked with protecting the UK’s nuclear weapons is the first non-special forces unit to completely drop the standard SA-80 rifle for the Colt Canada C8 Diemaco carbine

Diemaco C8-CQB: Also known as L119 carbine. Short 25.4-cm barrel for counter terrorism close-quarter battle

Calibre: 5.56x45mm standard NATO round

Muzzle Velocity: 900m/sec. 43 Commando,
Royal Marines will use low-velocity round
to reduce ricochet and limit collateral damage

Weight: 3.86kg Loaded plus optical sight

Multi-position telescoping buttstock

Flash suppressor

Picatinny rails: Allow use of accessories such as lasers, torches and grenade launchers

Feed: 30-round magazine

Rate-of-Fire: 900 rounds per minute

Ambidextrous controls: Allow right- or left-handed operation

SA80-A2 assault rifle: Used by British Army since 1985

Suffered repeated ammunition jams when used in Afghanistan. Upgraded in 2002 at cost of £92m.  More than 100 parts modified since it was first introduced

Weight: 4.98kg Loaded plus optical sight

Sources: Jane’s Defence Weekly, UK Ministry of Defence Focus Magazine