- The UK wants to replace the L115A3 sniper rifle with an as yet undecided system under Project Shamer
- Acquired during counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan in 2008, the weapon system is now outdated
- The UK’s firearms are increasingly obsolete compared to European peers and the post-peer forces of Russia and China
The UK government has cited “operational security” as to reasons why it cannot provide details of the full scope of Project Shamer, revealed earlier this year as a programme to replace the in-service L115 sniper rifle.
Responding to a UK parliamentary question, UK Minister for Defence Readiness Luke Pollard merely outlined that Project Shamer was a “defence procurement project”, citing operational security as to why further details could not be provided.
However, Army Technology reported earlier this year that Project Shamer was part of a multi-pronged approach to increase lethality in the British Army, valued in the region of £24m ($31.4m) with a planned contract start date of March 2026.
However, given that a tender is yet to be issued for Project Shamer, with interaction limited to the earlier pre-qualification questionnaire, it is unlikely the UK Ministry of Defence will be unable to meet the Q1 contract start date.
The current variant of the L115 sniper rifle, the A3 version, was first deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 as part of the Sniper System Improvement Programme (SSIP).
Designed to achieve a first-round hit at 600 metres and harassing fire out to 1,100m, Accuracy International’s L96 sniper rifle was teamed with a new x3 x12 x50 sight and spotting scope.
Manufactured by Accuracy International, the L115A3 long range rifle fires an 8.59mm bullet which is heavier than the 7.62mm round of the L96 system. Other elements of the SSIP included night sights, spotting scopes, laser range finders and tripods.
Publicly available information shows that the UK military had 600 L115A3 sniper rifles in service in 2015, along with 1,200 L129A1 sharpshooter rifles. A UK order for a replacement under Project Shamer would likely be for around 500 units at most, given the reduction in size of the UK military in the years since.
With the expected £24m contract value, each replacement of the L115A3 sniper rifle would cost around £48,000 for a 500-unit procurement.
The US military is introducing the new MK22 Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) into service, produced by Barrett Firearms, with the US Army in 2021 awarding a five-year $50m deal for 2,800 units. This equates to around $62,500 per unit, or around £47,000.
The MK22 PRS is capable of shooting effectively out to ranges of 1,500m, significantly farther than the UK’s L115A3 system.
UK small arms are now obsolete
Concern is also growing of the UK’s lack of lethality on the battlefield as the British Army contends with an ageing inventory still several years away from replacement. The main assault rifle, the 5.56mm calibre SA80A2/3, is due to be replaced under Project Grayburn, which is still likely not due to start delivering until late-2026 or early-2027.
Increased sophistication in body armour could render the UK’s small arms obsolete, with the Nato standard 5.56mm munition lacking penetration, with tests indicating that modern generation of Russian and Chinese personal protection can defeat such calibres.
