5.56MM INDIVIDUAL WEAPON (IW) (SA 80 & SA 80A2)

Designed to fire the standard NATO 5.56mm x 45mm round the SA 80 is fitted with a  x4 telescopic (SUSAT) sight as standard.

The total buy for SA 80 was for 332,092 weapons.

Issues of the weapon are believed to have been made as follows:

At 1991/92 prices the total cost of the SA 80 Contract was in the order of £384.16 million. 

By mid-1995, some 10,000 SA 80 Night Sights and 3rd Generation Image Intensifier Tubes, for use with SA 80, had been delivered. Since the introduction of the SA 80, the trials carried out during development have borne fruit. 

In 1993 the Infantry Trials and Development Unit (ITDU) at Warminster in Wiltshire conducted comparative tests on both the SA 80 and the SLR using the old SLR APWT (Annual Personal Weapons Test) for both weapons. 

The results were as follows:

RESULTS

SLR 

SA 80 with SUSAT

Passes

72%

100%

Markmanship Standard

17%

51%

Average Score

53

60

There is no doubt that today, British Army rifle shooting across the board represents a degree of accuracy previously considered unachievable.

Note: In the trial, based on the Annual Personal Weapons Test, which every soldier is measured by, the highest possible score was 70; the pass mark 49 and the marksmanship standard was 60 out of a possible 70. The APWT has since been amended to take into account the greater accuracy of the SA 80.

The weapon has had a mixed press and much has been made of the 32 modifications that have been made to the SA 80 since 1983. Further modifications have recently had to be made to enable the weapon to be more reliable when firing 5.56mm ammunition supplied by other NATO countries. 

Although there are many critics outside of the services, in the main the serving soldiers that we have spoken to have praised the weapon, and those that have had experience on both the SLR and SA 80 are unstinting in their praise for the newer system.

Our own enquiries suggest that the SA 80 is highly accurate, it is easily handled and comfortable to use. The weapon is finely engineered and perhaps lacks the robust operational durability of some of its predecessors. It is intolerant of dust and dirt and is inclined to stoppages in dry, dusty conditions. It is the first British short assault carbine into service, it will not be the last. It compares favourably with anything else of its type available on the current world market.

The weapon capability has also been extended by the introduction into service of a bullet catcher rifle grenade used in conjunction with a sight fitting issued to individual riflemen and section commanders. Once pulled down over the barrel of the SA 80 the grenade is launched by firing a bullet into it which projects it accurately up to 150m and provides an area suppression capability out to 300m.

5.56mm Individual Weapon (SA 80) & SA 80A Specifications
332,092 in service
Effective Range	400m
Muzzle Velocity	940m/s
Rate of Fire	from 610-775rpm
Weight	4.98kg (with 30 round magazine)
Length Overall	785mm
Barrel Length	518mm
Trigger Pull	3.12 - 4.5kg

SA 80A2

Following some severe criticism of the weapons mechanical reliability, the improved SA 80A2 was introduced into service during late 2001. Some thirteen changes have been made to the weapon's breech block, gas regulation, firing-pin, cartridge extractor, recoil springs, cylinder and gas plug, hammer, magazine and barrel. Since modification the weapon has been extensively trialled.

In the mean time, before failure (MTBF) figures from the firing trials for stoppages, following rounds fired are as follow:

The first SA 80A2 were in operational service during early 2002 and these weapons were in service across the army by late 2004. The cost of the programme was £92 million and some 200,000 weapons were modified by the time the programme ended in May 2006.

In late 2001 the British Army Combat Shooting Team took part in the Australian Army's skill -at-arms meeting in Brisbane using the new SA 80A2. Teams from eight nations took part in the competition and the British Army team won. The team's SA 80s fired 21,000 rounds in nine days without a stoppage.

Photo Crown Copyright