Quote:
Originally Posted by Rainbow Six
As well as older equipment remaining in use, there's also the possibility that newer equipment might have come into service earlier if the Cold War had carried on (for example IRL Challenger 2 didn't go into service until 1998, although first deliveries took place in 1994). In my T2K World I also brought forward the introduction of the A2 version of the L85 so that it came into service in time to equip front line units (as a knock on effect this obviously led to increased numbers of A1's in reserve stocks).
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A lot of that stuff gets wonky when you start figuring in the Cold War not ending -- like with the L85A2, had West Germany not ditched the G11 project and slashed military spending fire-sale style, HK wouldn't have gone bankrupt, and wouldn't have been bought out by Royal Ordnance and probably wouldn't have gotten the contract to upgrade the L85. No Gulf War means the L85 wouldn't have been so hashed up when the rubber really met the road, which might not have provoked the powers that be to start looking at fixes.
On the other hand, Gulf War or not, a product-improved version of the L85 or a completely new replacement weapon was very overdue (as pretty much everyone in the British Army knew by the time of the Twilight War). I could see an upgrade program being implemented, possibly during '95 when the Sino-Soviet War kicks off or maybe even an emergency crash program when the balloon went up in Europe and troops began mysteriously losing the L85s and reequipping themselves with anything else that would shoot.