The SA 80 is designed to shoot accurately out to 300 m and be easily handled in combat situations. With the disappearance of the Enfield .303 during the early 1960s the skill of shooting accurately above 400 m has largely died away.

The 7.62 Sniper Rifle filled the gap for a while but the vulnerability of the round to wind deflection over longer ranges made it desirable to come up with a weapon which could be fired with some precision in all phases of modern warfare.

The result has been the development by Accuracy International UK of the 8.59 mm (.338) Long Range Large Calibre Rifle L115A3 capable of shooting accurately out to 1100 m and beyond depending on atmospheric conditions. The weapon has been issued to JRRF (Joint Rapid Reaction Force) units on the basis of 14 per battalion, with one per platoon and a small pool for snipers in the battalion recce platoons. The LRR came into service in early 2000.

Reports suggest that in November 2009, a British Army sniper, operating near Musa Qala in Afghanistan, using a L115A3 rifle, shot two Taliban machine gunners at a range of 2,475 metres.