British Army SA80 A3 fielding begins
Fielding of the first tranche of upgraded SA80 A3 rifles to the British Army has begun, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 11 April.
Heckler and Koch is upgrading the British Army’s SA80 A2 handheld assault weapon to the A3 model, to extend the rifle’s service life until at least 2025.
The upgrades include a more durable hardwearing coating in a colour offering better camouflage in a range of environments. The new A3 model will be 100g lighter than the A2 and will have a more streamlined fore grip making the weapon easier to handle.
The rifle will also have a bracket to secure new low light sights which can clip on or in front of the day sight without the need to remove it. These sights are smaller, lighter and require fewer batteries while operating just as effectively in low light/night conditions.
Major General Colin McClean, director land equipment at the MoD’s Defence Equipment and Support organisation, said: ‘The SA80 is a battle proven weapon used by the UK armed forces on operations all over the world. The upgrade will build upon the rifle’s state-of-the-art features enhancing accuracy and consistency. The Mid Life Improvement project will ensure that our troops have the right equipment at the right time.’
The MLI project will see 5,000 weapons upgraded initially with the intent to upgrade more weapons in the future. The fielding of the first tranche started in February 2018.
More from Land Warfare
-
![Anduril Industries unveils improved electromagnetic warfare system]()
Anduril Industries unveils improved electromagnetic warfare system
Pulsar-L has already entered service and weighs about 12kg with range of 5km. It was only in May last year that the company disclosed that earlier versions were already in service.
-
![Polaris to unveil new MRZR Alpha base vehicle at Modern Day Marine]()
Polaris to unveil new MRZR Alpha base vehicle at Modern Day Marine
The new platform was designed to provide 1KW of exportable power as standard and has been developed in partnership with the US Marine Corps (USMC).
-
![British Army details Ajax plans]()
British Army details Ajax plans
Of the six variants in the Ajax programme – reconnaissance (Ajax), reconnaissance support (Ares), C2 (Athena), equipment repair (Apollo), equipment recovery (Atlas) and engineering reconnaissance (Argus) – the Ajax reconnaissance version is now entering service.
-
![CV90 revels in northern exposure while looking for new customers (updated April 2025)]()
CV90 revels in northern exposure while looking for new customers (updated April 2025)
The BAE Systems Hägglunds’ CV90 IFV has been around for decades but continual refreshing to maintain power and relevance, along with a healthy market at home in Sweden and neighbouring countries, has led to more than 1,700 vehicle orders with 10 countries.
-
![Oshkosh notches JLTV win with Dutch order]()
Oshkosh notches JLTV win with Dutch order
The order further extends the Oshkosh Defense production line as AM General, selected for US orders, pushes to get vehicles out the door with no room for export orders.
