At least ten years late and zillions over budget......

 

MOD people said that machine cannons not needed so could save £90,000,000

by not having them on the second batch for UK.

 

Said that the weight could be replaced by concrete and lead.......

 

Engineers then said that the shape of the replacement must be the same

as the guns otherwise aerodynamics will be upset.......

 

Not only that but the weight distribution of the replacement must be the same

as the guns.......

 

So the best thing to do would be to fit the guns!

 

It's true I'm not making it up.

 

Saving £3,500,000 by not having any ammo.

Said that the weight could be replaced by concrete and lead.......

QUOTE]

 

Nothing new there - Tornado GR1 flew around for years with concrete in the nose instead of the Foxhunter terrain following radar.

 

RAF - best pilots in the world; forced to fly in crap ! :mad:

 

When will we learn it's not worth risking pilots' lives just because the govt want to buy european ? Much better if we spent a quarter of the money and bought twice as much superior Yank kit !

They did a similar thing with the SA80. There were already excellent proven guns available but, oh no, MOD wanted their own design. Utter balls-up; wouldn't work properly unless in top condition, (Really like war situation, pah.) pounds heavy than others and, and I still cannot believe this, couldn't be used by left handed troops!! (Ejected shells would slam into their faces.)

Imagine, designing, making and testing a gun for mass production and nobody noticed the flaw.

In Afghanistan, the British guns weren't stolen.

In Afghanistan, the British guns weren't stolen.

 

Yeah, they probably figured they were children's toys, not rifles, being so plasticy. ;)

 

Don't know where they're up to now, but the last I knew they'd passed the 300 mark for modifications :( Fell foul myself of the one where the magazine release catch would press against your webbing belt and eject the mag when you had it slung for yomping. Not long later they recalled them all and fitted that metal ridge around the catch, but not before I'd had a b@llocking for losing a mag (luckily only full of blank rounds)

 

Add that to the fact you need 2 or 3 rounds to put someone down, being such a small calibre and it's hardly surprising that special forces don't use them !

I work with a guy who served in the Paras for 20-odd years - he told me that if the gun suffered an impact, it could go off. I imagine that would be reassuring to know in a combat situation. :rolleyes: