Special Air Service (SAS) Weapons
As one would expect of a special forces unit, aside from the range of standard weapons used by the UK military, the men of the 22nd Special Air Service (SAS) have access to a wider selection of firearms and other weapons than your average British soldier.
This section of the site takes a look at some of the weapons known to be used by the Special Air Service.
C8 carbine
The Regiment's primary assault rifle / carbine
UCIW
Ultra Compact Individual Weapon - a very short version of the M4
M16 & variants
5.56mm rifle / carbine
HK G3
7.62mm battle rifle used by UKSF
HK33 / 53
5.56mm version of the G3
HK G36
Modern assault rifle made by Heckler & Koch
HK MP5
World famous counter-terrorist weapons - the MP5 sub machine gun
MAC-10 SMG
9mm SMG once used by the SAS in Northern Ireland
Handguns
Info on the Sig Sauer P226, Browning High Power and other pistols.
Welrod
World War-era 2 silenced pistol
Remington 870
Shotgun often loaded with special breaching rounds
HK417
Medium ranger sniper rifle
L96A1
The Regiment's long range sniper rifle
AW 50
.50 cal anti-material rifle
Arwen 37
Tear gas canister launcher used for counter-terrorism operations
Flash-Bang
Stun Grenade devloped by the SAS CRW wing.
M72 LAW
Compact anti-tank rocket launcher
Claymore
A portable anti-personnel mine used for defence and ambushes
M203
40mm grenade launcher fitted to SAS rifles
UGL
A modern grenade launcher system
MK19
40mm grenade launcher fitted to SAS vehicles used in the 1991 Gulf War
Stinger
Shoulder-fired Surface-To_Air missile (SAM)read an article on UKSF weapons add-ons
view youtube video featuring
SAS Counter Terrorism weapons
As with mmany other special forces units, Special Air Service troopers will train with many of the world's military weapons, such as Kalashnikovs. These are not weapons that they would normally choose to take with them on operations but due to their ubiquity amongst other armed forces, it is important for an SAS operator to have working knowledge of them. Not only might they be tasked with training foreign militaries with their use, they may also lead such forces into combat, using their weapons. The SAS may also need to use the enemy's guns in emergency situations - ie such as in escape and evasion, when a trooper may need to take and use guns from fallen enemy soldiers. Then there are 'false-flag' operations, in which the SAS may purposely use firearms likely to be identified with another force in order to cover their own identity.
