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Sa80
The SA80 (Small Arms for the 1980s) is a British family of 5.56×45mm NATO service weapons used by the British Army. The L85 Rifle variant has been the standard issue service rifle of the British Armed Forces since 1987, replacing the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle. The prototypes were created in 1976, with production of the A1 variant starting in 1985 and ending in 1994. The A2 variant came to be as the result of a significant upgrade in the early 2000s by Heckler & Koch and remains in service as of 2025. The A3 variant was first issued in 2018 with several new improvements. The remainder of the SA80 family consists of the L86 Light Support Weapon, the short-barrelled L22 Carbine and the L98 Cadet rifle. The SA80 was the last in a long line of British weapons (including the Lee–Enfield family) to come from the Royal Small Arms Factory, the national arms development and production facility at Enfield Lock, before its weapons factory was closed down in 1988. Development Post-war i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bullpup
A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the Chamber (firearms), breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, more compact, concealable, and more maneuverable than a conventionally configured firearm. Where it is desirable for troops to be issued a more compact weapon, the use of a bullpup configuration allows for barrel length to be retained, thus preserving muzzle velocity, range, and ballistic effectiveness. The bullpup concept was first tested militarily in 1901 with the British Thorneycroft carbine, but it was not until the Cold War that more successful designs and improvements led to wider adoption. In 1977, the Austrian Federal Army, Austrian Army became the first military force in the world to adopt a bullpup rifle, the Steyr AUG, as a service rifle, principal combat weapon. Since then the militaries in many countries have followed suit w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
EM-2 Bullpup Rifle
The EM-2, also known as Rifle, No.9, Mk.1 or Janson rifle, is a British assault rifle. It was briefly adopted by British forces in 1951, but the decision was overturned very shortly thereafter by Winston Churchill's incoming government in an effort to secure NATO standardisation of small arms and ammunition. It was an innovative weapon with the compact bullpup layout, built-in carrying handle and an optical sight. The gun was designed to fire one of the first purpose-designed entirely new intermediate cartridges, designed to a 1945 requirement as a result of combat experience and German advances in weapons design during World War II. The round, the .280 British, was designed to replace the .303 round, which dated to the late 19th century. The EM-2 was intended to replace the Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifles and various submachineguns, while the TADEN would replace the Bren gun and Vickers machine gun. As part of NATO standardization efforts, the United States claimed the .2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve personnel and 4,697 "other personnel", for a total of 108,413. The British Army traces back to 1707 and the Acts of Union 1707, formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain which joined the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland into a Political union, single state and, with that, united the English Army and the Scots Army as the British Army. The Parliament of England, English Bill of Rights 1689 and Convention of the Estates, Scottish Claim of Right Act 1689 require parliamentary consent for the Crown to maintain a peacetime standing army. Members of the British Army swear allegiance to the Charles III, monarch as their commander-in-chief. The army is administered by the Ministry of Defence (United Kingd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
L64/65
The L64 (also called the ''Enfield Individual Weapon'') was an intermediate calibre British bullpup layout prototype assault rifle developed in the 1970s. At one time it was known as the 4.85 Individual Weapon, a reference to the calibre of the bullet it fired. Development The British Army had considered bullpup designs with intermediate calibre rounds in the 1950s, and officially adopted one of these as .280 British in 1951 in the EM-2 and Taden gun. However, US intransigence during NATO standardization efforts, and Winston Churchill's interest in standards above all, led to the adoption of the 7.62×51mm NATO round. This was significantly more powerful than the .280, and could not be easily adapted to the existing weapons. Instead, the British and Canadian armies adopted the L1A1 SLR, a licensed version of the FN FAL, itself originally designed for the .280. During the 1960s the US found that, as the British had suggested, the 7.62 NATO round was far too powerful to be u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heckler & Koch
Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK or H&K; ) is a German firearms manufacturer that produces handguns, rifles, submachine guns, and grenade launchers. The company is located in Oberndorf am Neckar, Baden-Württemberg and also has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. Heckler & Koch was founded in 1949 by former Mauser engineers Edmund Heckler, Theodor Koch, and Alex Seidel, who founded the company out of the shuttered Mauser factory in Oberndorf. The company initially produced machine tool and metal parts until 1956 when, in response to a contract for a new service rifle, HK developed the Heckler & Koch G3. The success of the G3 rifle prompted HK to transition to the defense industry. HK was owned by Royal Ordnance from 1991 to 2002, and is currently part of the Heckler & Koch Group, comprising Heckler & Koch GmbH, Heckler & Koch Defense, NSAF Ltd., and Heckler & Koch France SAS. The company's motto is "''Keine Kompromisse!''" (No Compromises!). Nicolas Walewsk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle
The L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), also known by the initial Canadian designation C1, or in the U.S. as the "inch pattern" FAL, is a British version of the Belgian FN FAL battle rifle. The L1A1 was produced under licence and adopted by the armed forces of the Commonwealth of Nations, mainly by United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, New Zealand, Rhodesia and Singapore. The L1A1 is manufactured to a slightly modified design using British imperial units compared to the metric units of the original Belgian FAL. Many sub-assemblies are interchangeable between the two types, while components of those sub-assemblies may not be compatible. Notable incompatibilities include the magazine and the stock. Most Commonwealth pattern FALs are semi-automatic only. A variant named L2A1/C2A1 (C2), meant to serve as a light machine gun in a support role, is also capable of fully automatic fire. Differences from the L1A1/C1 include a heavy barrel, squared front sight (versus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SUSAT
The Sight Unit Small Arms, Trilux, or SUSAT, is a 4× telescopic sight, with Tritium illumination , tritium-powered illumination utilised at dusk or dawn. The full name of the current model is the SUSAT L9A1. The sight is not designed as a sniper sight, but is rather intended to be mounted on a variety of rifles and to be used by all infantrymen. Similar devices include the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG), manufactured by Trijicon, and the Specter (sight), Elcan Specter. Use SUSAT was the primary sighting system for the British Army's SA80, SA80 series weapons. It was also used with FN Minimi, L108 and L110 light machine guns, and mounted to FN MAG, L7 and M2 Browning, L111 machine guns. It was phased out and replaced by Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, ACOG and ELCAN Optical Technologies, ELCAN sight units during mid-life upgrade programmes. As of March 2025 it is still in use with much of the UK armed forces – primarily reserve, rear-echelon and for training use d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight
The Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG) is a series of prismatic telescopic sights manufactured by Trijicon. The ACOG was originally designed to be used on the M16 rifle and M4 carbine, but Trijicon has also developed ACOG accessories for other firearms. Models provide fixed-power magnification levels from 1.25× to 6×. ACOG reticles are illuminated at night by an internal tritium phosphor. Some versions have an additional daytime reticle illumination via a passive external fiberoptic light pipe or are LED-illuminated using a dry battery. The first ACOG model, known as the TA01, was released in 1987. History The first ACOG model, known as the TA01, was released in 1987. An example was tested on the Stoner 93 in the early 1990s by the Royal Thai Armed Forces. In 1995, United States Special Operations Command selected the 4×32 TA01 as the official scope for the M4 carbine and purchased 12,000 units from Trijicon. Between 2004 and 2005, the TA31RCO-A4 & M4 (AN/PVQ- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ArmaLite
ArmaLite, or Armalite, is an American small arms engineering company, formed in the early 1950s in Hollywood, California. Many of its products, as conceived by chief designer Eugene Stoner, relied on unique foam-filled fiberglass butt/stock furniture and a composite barrel using a steel liner inside an aluminum sleeve, including the iconic AR-15/ M16 family. While the original ArmaLite ceased doing business in the 1980s, the brand was revived in 1996, by Mark Westrom. Originating as the light firearms division of Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, ArmaLite was formally incorporated in 1954. Stoner's first design, the AR-1 Parasniper (dating from 1952), was relatively unsuccessful. However, in 1956, when ArmaLite competed in a contest for an aircrew survival rifle, its AR-5 and AR-7 designs were put into production and adopted by elements of the US military. In 1957, ArmaLite also competed for the contract for a new main US combat rifle, in the NATO standard 7.62 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Small Arms Factory
The Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF), also known by the metonym ''Enfield'', was a UK government-owned rifle factory in Enfield, adjoining the Lee Navigation in the Lea Valley. Some parts were in Waltham Abbey. The factory produced British military rifles, muskets and swords from 1816. It closed in 1988, but some of its work was transferred to other sites. The factory designed and manufactured many famous British Army weapons including the Lee–Enfield rifles which were standard equipment during both World Wars. History The RSAF had its origins in a short-lived Royal Manufactory of Small Arms established in Lewisham in 1807. The site in Lewisham was a mill where armour had been made since the fourteenth century. Following its purchase by Henry VIII in 1530, it became known as the Royal Armoury Mills and served his armoury in Greenwich. During the Napoleonic War, the increasing demand for large quantities of reliable weapons prompted the Board of Ordnance to look into bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gas-operated Reloading
Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to dispose of the spent case and insert a new cartridge into the chamber. Energy from the gas is harnessed through either a port in the barrel or a trap at the muzzle. This high-pressure gas impinges on a surface such as a piston head to provide motion for unlocking of the action, extraction of the spent case, ejection, cocking of the hammer or striker, chambering of a fresh cartridge, and locking of the action. History The first mention of using a gas piston in a single-shot breech-loading rifle comes from 1856, by the German Edward Lindner who patented his invention in the United States and Britain. In 1866, Englishman William Curtis filed the first patent on a gas-operated repeating rifle but subsequently failed to develop that idea further. Between 1883 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
