Quote:
Originally Posted by jp10
So British Special Forces can't carry an extra 2.5 pounds? Times really are changing. I guess it take a whole squad to carry a machine gun.
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As the British Army always says, "Any fool can be uncomfortable."
If you need a GPMG, you carry a GPMG, or whatever kit you need. You do
not waste effort on a weapon, if you can get the same effect from lighter kit, especially if you are SF type forces who very often do not have APC's.
Another British Army saying was "Bull **** baffles brains."
Average British soldiers, like most soldiers around the world, get the best, weapon in terms of value for money for the Government, filtered through assorted companies that need to make a profit and assorted civil servants who do what civil servants do (or don't do).
Special Forces soldiers, generally, get the best weapons money can buy. It's that simple.
I have never met one single British Army infantry soldier, who was around at the time of the change over, who thought the 5.56mm SA80 was a better weapon than the 7.62mm SLR,
not one. I did meet a fair number of South African soldiers who preferred the the R4 (basically the Israeli Galil) to the R1 (not a lot different from the UK SLR).
The SA80, when first introduced, was not a good service rifle, in any way. The modern SA80 A2 is a good weapon, but it took years to get there and it is still
very heavy for an assault rifle and not well balanced.