London [UK], February 27: The Times newspaper reported that the British army is still using outdated sniper rifles, which according to British officers are no longer strong enough to penetrate modern bulletproof vests from Russia or China.
According to the newspaper, the British army continues to use the L115A3 sniper rifle , while other armies have upgraded to the AX series from the same manufacturer. The AX series is lighter and increases the user's shooting range.
British guns and bullets are now useless against Russian armor and helmets?"Europeans used to be fascinated by our sniper rifles, but now they laugh at them," a senior British army officer admitted to The Times . Even a sniper team from a NATO ally in Eastern Europe was surprised to see their British colleagues still using the old rifles.
About 500 British Army snipers use the L115A3, according to the officer.
Other sniper units in the British army face similar problems. The standard SA-80 rifle has been used by British soldiers for four decades and is known to have changed little since the 1980s.The SA-80 uses NATO-standard 5.56mm ammunition, and the gun was designed to penetrate Russian cold war helmets, but the problem is that Russia has long since replaced its forces with new helmets. In addition, the SA-80 has been criticized for being heavy and cumbersome, The Times quoted another source.
It is estimated that there are currently around 150,000 SA-80 rifles in use in British Army units, although it is one of the "least updated" rifles and is no longer in production.
NATO allies such as the US military currently use 6.8mm bullets, which are more lethal than the 5.56mm line, combined with the XM7 and XM250 gun lines produced by US contractor Sig Sauer.
Meanwhile, Russian armor has been improved and the latest set for the country's infantrymen includes "level 4" armor designed to stop fire from Russian 7.62mm rifles.Pressure to upgrade weapons
The British Army is planning to replace the SA-80 series as part of Project Grayburn, which is in the conceptual phase.
At a hearing before the US Senate committee in 2017, the late US Major General Robert Scales said that the 5.56mm bullet used for the SA-80 could not penetrate Russian soldiers' body armor, and was easily surpassed by Russia's latest guns.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
