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The SA80 (Small Arms for the 1980s) is a British family of 5.56×45mm NATO service weapons used by the British Army.[5] The L85 Rifle variant has been the standard issue service rifle of the British Armed Forces since 1987, replacing the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle. The first prototypes were created in 1976, with production of the A1 variant starting in 1985 and ending in 1994. The A2 variant came to be as the result of a significant upgrade in the early 2000s by Heckler & Koch and remains in service as of 2023. The A3 variant was first issued in 2018 with several new improvements.
The remainder of the SA80 family comprises the L86 Light Support Weapon, the short-barrelled L22 Carbine and the L98 Cadet rifle.
The SA80 was the last in a long line of British weapons (including the Lee-Enfield family) to come from the Royal Small Arms Factory, the national arms development and production facility at Enfield Lock, before its weapons factory was closed down in 1988.