L86A1 LSW
Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 12:26 Written by Administrator Thursday, 02 July 2009 03:31
The L86A1 LSW is one of the best squad support weapons to be ever designed. The weapon was designed in the 1970s and several improvements were made to the design in the later years. “LSW” stands for “Light Support Weapon”. It is manufactured by the Royal Small Arms Factory and the Royal Ordnance in the United Kingdom.
The L86A1 LSW’s design is based on the SA80 assault rifle and shares many of the working components with the former. However, it differs from the former in some design aspects such as the heavier barrel, the bipod and features a different bolt arrangement. The bolt and trigger mechanism of the L86A1 LSW are also modified to enable it to be fired from open-bolt. The SA80 and its variants were designed and manufactured by the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock until 1988. However after 1988, the production was transferred to the Royal Ordnance’s Nottingham Small Arms Facility.
The LSW weighs 6.8 Kgs and overall measures 900 mm in length. Its barrel measures 646 mm. It uses a gas-operated, rotating bolt mechanism and fires the 5.56x45 mm NATO round. It is capable of rates of fire ranging between 610-775 rounds per minute. The final version of the LSW was accepted and by the British Military in the year 1986. Approximately 22,000 of the gun and its variants were manufactured before production was ceased.
The LSW is not exactly a machine gun. In fact, its designers never intended it to be one. It is a light support weapon with has a little more range and firepower when compared with a conventional assault weapon. However, it resembles a conventional assault rifle in many ways, especially in its light weight. Experts believe that the LSW would perfectly suffice in modern combat situations.
The L86A1 LWS is very accurate and features the same optical sight as the SA80. In some cases, it can also be employed as a sniper rifle. However, on the minus side the L86A1 has several minus points and thus is not a very good machine gun. The main disadvantage is that its barrel cannot be changed. Its magazine has a capacity of only 30-rounds which is not sufficient enough taking into account its high rate of fire of 700-rounds per minute. Since the barrel cannot be changed, the gun has to be carefully fired and the firing rate kept low to prevent overheating.
The LSW and its parent weapon—the SA80 have seen action in many wars and conflicts in which the United Kingdom was involved. Most notably it has been deployed in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, the First and Second Gulf Wars and also in Afghanistan. These guns have also been exported to Venezuela in limited numbers. However, because of the weapon’s bad performance in the jungle settings of Venezuela, they have not been favoured.
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