The British Army will receive new thermal vision optics for its SA80A3 and Hunter battle rifles in a new deal between North Wales based Qioptiq and the Ministry of Defence (MoD), following an order for up to 10,000 TALON Fused Weapon Sights.
Although seemingly a low order given the British Army’s nominative 73,000 personnel strength, the service has under 19,000 unrestricted fully combat deployable soldiers in its force structure. The prospective order for 10,000 TALON sights will enable around 50% of the approximate 20,000 SA80A3 and Hunter rifles in service.
Announced in an 18 November 2024 release, the UK MoD stated that TALON would assist soldiers to “better track and shoot the enemy in dark conditions”, described as the “most advanced” sights the British Army will have used.
The sight uses optical technology to detect enemy combatants better in low light at distances of up to 1km, has an ability to recognise adversaries through body heat, known as thermal recognition, the MoD said.
While some soldiers are already using the sight in tests, the first of the new sights is expected to be in use more widely across the British Army in 2025. The £120m ($151.4m) contract continues procurement of the TALON sight, under a seven-year Framework Agreement with Qioptiq.
In-service support for the sights will be managed through a surveillance and target acquisition support contract delivered by US-headquartered Excelitas, which owns Qioptiq.
British Army rifles: SA80A3 and Hunter
The SA80A3 and Hunter weapon systems are the two main battle rifles operated by frontline combat troops in the British Army.
First entering service in the 1980s, the SA80 bullpup assault rifle has gone through a series of upgrades and iterations, with the SA80A2 being created in 2002 following a mid-life upgrade, followed by the SA80A3 in the mid-to-late-2010s. The latest variant, known as the L85A3, has been gradually rolled out across the British Army, first issued in 2018.
In January 2022 a Parliamentary written response revealed that the UK had a total inventory of 17,900 SA80A3 variants, held across defence.
The Hunter battle rifle is equipped to the British Army’s Special Operations Brigade, which is undergoing a reformation with the new Ranger Regiment at its core. The four Ranger battalions will form the main combat bulk of the Special Operations Brigade, augmented by other elements such as the Royal Ghurka Rifles.
In September 2023, the UK’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) secured an initial order for the new Alternative Infantry Weapon (AIW) system under Project Hunter worth £15m for 1,620 units, with options to acquire up to 10,000 systems – which comes to a total of £90m over the next decade.
