Introducing the SA80: The Worst Military Rifle Ever?

Paul Richard Huard

Security,

You be the judge. 

The SA80 is the British Army’s main assault rifle, and everything about it just screams “1980s.”

The British Army Rumor Service — a message board and comedy site — described it as the weaponized version of civil servant, “as it doesn’t work, and can’t be fired.” The rifle even has the decade built into its name. SA80 stands for “Small Arms for the 1980s.”

Like so much from the era, the SA80 represented sleek modernity. Generals and bureaucrats at the Ministry of Defense wanted it to be the most accurate and reliable assault rifle in the world.

Instead, it was a bloody disaster. First introduced in 1985, the SA80 comes in the bullpup configuration and fires the 5.56 x 45-millimeter NATO round. It was supposed to be a compact and technologically advanced replacement for the venerable L1A1 battle rifle — better known as the Fabrique Nationale FAL.

But problems plagued the SA80, which is still in service in a variety of configurations. To be fair, some British soldiers say the L85A2 — the most recent incarnation of the SA80 assault rifle — is reliable most of the time.

Still, past versions of the SA80 were notorious for their stoppages, particularly in harsh environments found on a typical battlefield. The rifle frequently had “bits” that would break or fall off the weapon. There are even stories of fixed bayonets “going ballistic” when soldiers opened fire.

“The main issue with the SA80 is now one of confidence,” Terry Gander, editor of Jane’s Infantry Weapons, told The Daily Mail. “The lads don’t like it, and the slightest problem will tend to be magnified.”

But despite some talk of replacing the weapon, the British military plans to keep the SA80 until at least 2020 — whether or not the lads like it.

Development of the SA80 dates back to the 1950s. The British military was interested in developing a bullpup-configured weapon even then. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that the United Kingdom built actual prototypes of the SA80.