End of Era: Heckler & Koch Upgrades Final Batch of L85 Rifles

The British subsidiary of the German company Heckler & Koch has upgraded the final batch of L85 assault rifles.

The report comes from the manufacturer.

On July 30, the company completed the upgrade of a batch of 15,600 rifles commissioned by the UK Ministry of Defence.

Thus, Heckler & Koch UK has completed the program under which over 40,000 SA80A3 rifles were delivered to the British Army.

According to information published on the official government procurement website, the United Kingdom began the process of finding a replacement for the SA80 (L85) as part of Project Grayburn in January of this year.

Heckler & Koch SA80 (L85)

The SA80 is a bullpup-style rifle system that was adopted by the British Armed Forces in 1985.

In 2000, the country’s defense ministry signed a contract with the German company Heckler & Koch for a major modernization of approximately 200,000 rifles, designated the L85A2.

Between 2016 and 2018, the British Army launched the Mid-Life Improvement project, under which the rifle was upgraded to the L85A3 model and its service life was extended until the mid-2030s.

SA80A3 (L85A3) specifications:

• caliber: 5.56×45 mm NATO;
• length: ~785 mm;
• barrel length: 518 mm;
• weight: ~4 kg;
• feed: 30-round magazines;
• fire modes: single and automatic.