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Defective British army rifles recalled

LONDON: Standard rifles used by the British armed forces are so defective that all 300,000 are being recalled for multi-million-pound modifications, The Times newspaper reported on Friday.

The overhaul of the SA80 rifles is expected to take at least two years. The report is likely to embarrass the government following Wednesday's revelations that Britain spent almost one billion pounds (1.6 billion dollars, euros) on upgrading Royal Air Force fighter planes only to find they could no longer fire state-of-the-art missiles.

The daily said servicemen and women had complained about the rifles, designed by a state-owned company, for more than eight years, notably about their performance in extreme hot or cold climates.

Complaints were first raised during the 1991 Gulf War and similar problems have been reported by troops in Kosovo.

The daily said concern had also been expressed that the guns can fire only British-made ammunition, a situation which must be modified so that British troops can operate effectively alongside US and European colleagues.ÑAFP