L85, or "Land Service, 1985", is a standard assault rifle of the British Armed Forces. Originally named SA80 (standing in for "Small Arms for the 1980s"), it is a bullpup-style assault rifle evolved from an earlier British EM-2 prototype designed to test the viability of intermediate cartridges as well as taking design cues from Armalite's AR-18 rifle. The L85A2 variant remains in service today, as well as other variants such as the shorter-barreled L22A2 and L86 LSW, its light machine gun variant.
The SA80 family was the last weapon to be manufactured by Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield before its closure. Thus, a significant portion of the guns produced were highly unreliable and flawed in many places. The rifle then had its production switched to other factories, until eventually being upgraded by Heckler and Koch, producing the A2 variant in the year 2000. While its quality did finally improve, the damage was already done; it is considered to be a very unreliable rifle by just about everyone, especially the soldiers that used it in the 1991 Gulf War.
Easily distinguished by its stocky, spartan appearance and oftentimes tan-colored heat shield in front of the gun. Newer models may have Picatinny rails attached in front instead.
