tiny_tanker Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Originally posted by Battlefront.com: Tiny_tanker, Interesting! When the uniform was first announced (several years ago) they said it was to be base use only. Which begged the question "why bother?". Typical DoD idiocy. They make something for one thing and then, after they have adopted it but before they've issued it, they change the "mission statement". The uniform is not well suited for an arid environment, which isn't surprising since it wasn't designed for one. Steve This is true, it was deigned as a barracks utility uniform only. Because of that it wasn't going to have digital camo or have colors that blend into anything. As it stands now its a digital tiger stripe that should blend well with concrete (an Airmans natural habitat) and is made of the same material as the desert MARPAT pants. The entire ABU was cut from the same type of cloth to save money, so whereas the Marines have heavier pants and a lighter weight top, the Air Force doesn't. I hope to get mine by next year, but it will be interesting to see how they evolve after the first combat use though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinnessman Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Originally posted by flamingknives: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Guinnessman: Isn't THAT the truth. The Ministry of Defence here in the UK is exactly the same. Just look at all the fudged test results for the SA80.... Which ones? </font> 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingknives Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 The initial ones then? I did read through those at one point. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinnessman Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I don't think it was the first test, but a subsequent one. IIRC in the first test the SA80 was compared with the M16, Steyr AUG, and a few other rifles. The tests were to measure the MRBF (mean Rounds Before Failure) and the SA80 didn't do well at all. They re-did the tests, but changed the definition of what a 'failure' constituted. I think they also had REME armourers actually at the ranges during the tests, and they were checking each weapon every time it suffered a stoppage, which totally defeated the point of determing how well the weapon would work out in the field. End result was that the SA80 managed to pass, though even then it was a close thing. I've been hunting for the website that chronicled it all, made for very illuminating and somewhat depressing reading. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingknives Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Still the A1 configuration though. After they realised that the build quality was arrse and wanted to instill confidence. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinnessman Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Indeedy. The A2 is supposedly a hell of a lot better though(never handled one myself right enough, they were just phasing them into service when I left). Still doesn't resolve the problem of it's weight and the fact that it's a pain in the nether regions to clean. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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