Expert clears troops of blame for rifle faults

Reports claim an official report blamed Royal Marines for not maintaining the weapon properly during their hunt for Taleban and al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defence yesterday responded by saying fresh instructions on the maintenance and cleaning of the weapon have now been issued.

Mike Yardley, a former army officer, said: "To put that forward, to try to blame the soldiers, who are seasoned professionals, is actually rather unpleasant.

"It’s trying to deflect the problem created from the deficiencies in the rifle itself."

The SA80-A2 came into service in March after a 92 million development to replace the original SA80, a fault-prone British rifle which the Army chose to use rather than the proven US or German equivalents.

Troops complained about the SA80 in the 1980s and after it jammed in desert conditions during the Gulf War.

The MoD said the modified version, adapted by the Royal Ordnance subsidiary Heckler and Koch in Germany, was tested rigorously in Arctic, jungle, desert and temperate conditions.

Briefing notes on the MoD’s website say the SA80-A2 is not difficult to maintain, is more reliable in extreme conditions, as well as being more accurate and lethal than its predecessor. Officials accepted, however, that "teething troubles" could exist as Afghanistan was the rifle’s first operational use.

But Mr Yardley, who called for troops to be issued with modified M16 rifles, said weapons such as the Russian-built AK47 functioned in the most extreme battlefield conditions.

"If you have a battle rifle, it should be able to function even with minor problems with cleaning," he said.

"On the battlefield, rifles aren’t going to be kept as clean as they are on the parade ground.

"The SA80 has been beset with problems since its introduction and it’s clear even with the modifications that it is a less than perfect weapon," he said. "The fact that our special forces don’t use it says everything." Mr Yardley accepted that the SA80-A2 was extremely accurate but questioned its design, weight and balance which affected its handling ability.

Terry J Gander, editor of Jane’s Infantry Weapons, wrote on the group’s website that the "old problems" persist.

"It would appear that the only certain way to rectify the ... unreliability situation is to start again," he said.

"Both weapons have now gained such a reputation for unreliability that even the slightest shortcoming will result in calls for replacement."

This latest twist in the history of the SA80 dates back to soldiers complaining in the Gulf War, 1991, that the ministry designed SA80 was prone to jamming.

In June 2000 two thirds of the 300,000 SA80s used by the British armed forces had to be withdrawn from service in an extensive 80 million modification programme.

It was also described as "unreliable and insufficiently robust" in a leaked report from British commanders in Kosovo in 1999.

In 1995 the MoD ordered full-scale tests to be carried out. Heckler & Koch was asked to study the weapon and reported back in 1998. A final report was handed to the Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, in December 2001.

After what the MoD described as comprehensive climatic trials, major changes were made to the weapon, including changes to the weapon's barrel, bolt head, hammer, firing pin, magazine, springs, and cocking lever.