Interesting articles

We dodged many Bullets in that regard.

I remember it well, and in fairness to all involved, testing was thorough, and the fact the same weapon selected in 1987 is still in use today, is a tribute to the tests and trials that were done then.

A neighbour was in Ordnance Corps back then as a recently qualified apprentice, (he recently retired), and was involved in the project.

FN assumed we would go with the FNC, we didn't, we didn't it was a lumbering heavy piece of shite. As accurate as the FAL, but almost as heavy.

SIG Sauer were offering the same rifle SG550 used by its entire conscript force, but retailed at £2000 each, in 1980s money.(You'd have bought a family car for About £8000 back then) It was fitted with a Bipod as standard, had similar sighting to the H&K33 (Rotating Diopter Drum-very easy to use) and used the same rotating bolt locking found on other assault rifles of the era. The Magazines could lock together on the rifle so you could have 60 rounds ready to fire. It did very well on trials, and was supplied by a fellow Neutral.

The H&K 33 was possibly the best on trial, but its roller locking wasn't very user friendly. Needed lots of maintenance in challenging conditions to retain reliability. If the rollers got stuck then you were left with a 5.56mm SMG. Did not like non-standard ammo, same as the G3. The fact they dropped the system completely in their modern output speaks volumes there. AGS still use the type I believe. Fine for their purpose, not fine for being bounced around the back of an APC in some muddy mosquito infested swamp overseas.

Galil ARM was a glorified AK, in 5.56mm. Had a Bipod, & built in bottle opener (so users wouldn't damage the ejection port by using it to open bottles) Failed the mud test, dramatically. Would eject casings into the next parish.

The Beretta AR70/90 was on trial too. Didn't make it to final evaluation, for whatever reason. Wasn't as imaginative as the final candidates, perhaps.

SA80 was a heavy piece of ****. (11Lb compared to the Lightweight Steyr at 7.9lb or the M16 at 8.8lb. The FAL it replaced was Only 9.4LB.) Everyone knew it, even the British. The RM continued using the M16 for some years until they were forced to take the SA80. There is nothing good can be said about this rifle. It was made by people with no experience in making rifles. The Optical sight affects situational awareness, as you had to close the disengaged eye to fire (not an issue with the Steyr). The cocking handle was on the wrong side, the magazine would fall off if you held the weapon too tight against your body or if you knocked off something. The Falkland Island defence force refused to adapt it until recently, instead using the Aug. It took 20 years before H&K redesigned it. Outside the UK, the only other users are those who got it as a donation of overseas aid from the UK.

The M16A2 did pretty well in the trial, it looked like a proper rifle, and all the flaws and faults experienced in Vietnam had been sorted out by the A2. It didn't sit well politically though. Was well liked by the user trials. Maintained 90% accuracy to man sized targets out to 500m.

FAMAS did well too, the FFL had it well tested at that point, but it was very French. An Ambidexterous bullpup, built in bipod as standard, but did not have sturdy magazines. (Apparently French practice was to supply troops with preloaded magazines, which they would discard after use) This was rectified on later versions, which accepted the standard NATO/M16 style magazine..

The Steyr AUG, like the SA80, was a bullpup with an optical sight. However it was very user friendly, once you could get past so much of the mechanism being plastic. They Drove a laden Man 4x4 over it during tests and the only damage was the sling clip bent slightly. Otherwise it continued functioning accurately. The Bayonet was a gamechanger too, with its wire cutting tool. (In reality it never left stores because it was so bloody sharp). The optical sight was much easier to train inexperienced shooters on, and mounting night sights was a very simple process of replacing the receiver group. If you so desired, the rifle could be used as a Light machine gun, just by popping out the standard barrel, and replacing it with a heavy one, that included bipod legs, and fitting a larger 40 round magazine. (we never went down that road, in reality it was a false economy, and we hung on to the GPMG in the fire support role). Reportedly we traded a few million tonnes of Irish Intervention Butter to Austria as part of the deal. (Once upon a time, due to over production, we had a Butter Mountain, a Beef Mountain and a Wine lake. This was because the EEC(EU nowadays) paid farmers to produce these products, even when there was no market for them). I know nothing about that apart from the fact there was 2 old fashioned "Reefer" ships anchored in Cork harbour for years, storing surplus produced butter. They were both gone, never to be seen again after 1987.

The AUG has served us very well, and will do for many years to come, after its recent upgrade. Long live the Butter Gun.