British Army soldiers are receiving a new, high-precision rifle procured under the British Army’s Project Hunter, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 7 September 2023.
The Alternative Individual Weapon (AIW) system – known as the L403A1 in British service – is more generally known as the Knight’s Stoner 1 (KS-1) and is a modern development of the ArmaLite Rifle (AR). It is manufactured by Knight’s Armament Company in the United States but it being delivered to the British Army via Macclesfield-based Edgar Brothers, which as prime contractor is responsible for sourcing and assembling the subsystems that make up the AIW system.
An initial GBP 15 M (EUR 17.5 M) order of 1,620 AIW systems has been placed by the UK MoD’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) organisation, with options to procure up to 10,000 systems worth GBP 90 million under the contract over the next decade.
The key features of the L403A1, which will supplement the current L85A3 rifle in British service, are a muzzle signature reduction system and an improved optical sighting system that allows threats to be engaged at greater distances. Additionally, unlike the L85A3, the L403A1 is designed to be ambidextrous, allowing both left- and right-hand/eye-dominant users to operate it identically.
Already in service with the Royal Marines, this latest L403A1 order will see it equip the Army Special Operations Brigade (ASOB), with the Ranger Regiment – a key ASOB component that was formed on 1 December 2021 under the Defence Command Paper of that year – receiving the AIW later this year.
Lieutenant Colonel Gareth Davies, SO1 SoldierWorks, Military Capability Delivery, at Army Headquarters, was quoted by the MoD as saying that the L403A1 “offers a marked increase in lethality” over current weapons and that the system “includes one of most capable day sights currently available. Importantly the weapon system will be further enhanced by our newest generation of night optics, with which the ASOB are already equipped”.
As an AR system the L403A1 also shares much in common with the rifle systems used by many UK allies, optimising interoperability in multinational formations.
Peter Felstead
