Is a belt fed machine gun better than the LSW?
A A belt fed machine gun and a LSW have different capabilities. The current belt fed machine gun used by the Armed forces is the GPMG. Although this has a greater rate of fire than the LSW it is much heavier, less accurate and the ammunition is not compatible with the IW. The capabilities are, however, complimentary. The first of the A2s were rushed into action in Afghanistan late in 2001. However, reports started to emerge that the L85A2 was still jamming, despite all of the modifications. The British popular press made much of these stories, and many were the voices baying for the scrapping of this fundamentally flawed weapon. By now the British Army’s rifle had become the subject of derision around the world, and attempts by the Army, following an urgent enquiry, to explain that the soldiers had not been taught the proper cleaning procedure were dismissed as cover-ups. Public speculation assumed that the SA80’s remaining life was short and focused on which weapon might replace it. I
