The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has asked industry to provide solutions for new 5.56mm “assault machine gun” and a replacement for the legacy L115 and L118 sniper rifle through its respective Project’s Shamer and Troubler.

Each of the Project Shamer and Troubler pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), published in mid-February 2025, has a maximum contract value of £4m ($5.5m), with industry responses due by 24 March 2025.

The proposed contract start dates for each programme is stated to begin on 1 June 2026 and conclude on 2 June 2033.

The 5.56mm assault machine gun requirement, intended for use by the “dismounted user” is the replacement effort of the L110 A2 Light Machine Gun (LMG), known as the Minimi in UK service, which was axed in 2018.

In the place of the Minimi, infantry sections were tasked to use the L129A1 Sharpshooter and the L7A2 GPMG 7.62mm heavy machine gun.

However, it now appears the UK MoD is seeking an alternative infantry machine gun, chambered in 5.56mm, and more easily carried by dismounted troops.

Meanwhile, the current variant of the L115 sniper rifle, the A3 version, was first deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 as part of the Sniper System Improvement Programme (SSIP).

Designed to achieve a first-round hit at 600 metres and harassing fire out to 1,100 metres, Accuracy International's L96 sniper rifle was teamed with with a new x3-x12 x 50 sight and spotting scope.

Manufactured by Accuracy International, the L115A3 long range rifle fires an 8.59mm bullet which is heavier than the 7.62mm round of the L96 system. Other elements of the SSIP included night sights, spotting scopes, laser range finders and tripods.

Grayburn, Upham, Hunter, Shamer, and Troubler – increasing lethality

These programmes are running concurrent with a wider effort replace the SA80 battle rifle in British Army service under Project Grayburn. Project Grayburn is thought likely to go on contract in the Q4 2026 – Q1 2027 timeframe, for around 150,000 weapons, deliverable in batches.

Similarly, it is anticipated that the British Army will receive a new optical sensor for its current SA80 and future Armalite-style battle rifle under the little-known Project Upham. Solutions will include a need for infrared capability, a significant improvement over the current basic zoom optics.

In November 2024 the British Army was announced to be receiving new thermal scopes for SA80A3 and Hunter battle rifles via the TALON thermal imaging sights, with the deal for around 10,000 units.

Other industrial players are known to be looking at optics solutions for the British Army, such as Thales with its EXTRAIM system.

Projects Shamer and Troubler also follow on from the 2023 award under Project Hunter of the L403A1 KS-1 as the Alternative Individual Weapon (AIW) for the UK military’s Special Operations Brigade. The programme was thought likely to influence the replacement of the SA80 rifles under Project Grayburn.

The UK military has long sought to introduce new personal weapons for use in special operations units as well as regular forces. In mid-2021, a contract notice was issued detailing the planned procurement and support of an Armalite-style rifle platform AIW system.

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.

Manufactured by Heckler and Koch, the SA80 fires the Nato standard 5.56×44 ammunition.

In January 2022 a Parliamentary written response revealed that the UK had a total inventory of 134,912 SA80A2 variants and 17,900 SA80A3 variants, held across defence.