sounds like a mess on its way…
Will we be dumped with all the No8s as the army cadets have the money to change over as we spent all our money on gliding pauses…
interesting…
RAF Benson recently had 4 x No8s, now only release 2 of them and only for dry training…
given over the last 5, 10, 15+ years the rifles have started to show their age and been dropped from service what is “current as required” status.
will that be a like for like replacement of all No8s working today (and so Benson at best will get 2 replacements, not much good for a 6 lane range for a summer camp!) or will that be based on “best case” scaling where each Parent station gets 6 and each Squadron with suitable armoury gets 2/4/6? as appropriate to their conditions and locality to a range?
I heard from a friend of a friend the acf are having a 2year roll out and only replacing the number 8 as they go unserviceable. Also each battalion is to make individual bids of how many they need/want so it’s not like for like
I’m going on third hand information, but I would suggest it will depend on whether it has a whole new WHT. If it doesn’t then it could be swapped in 1 for 1 and you could have mixed arms chests even at Squadron level. If it has a whole new test then in my view you would have to convert whole wings based upon need and redistribute the No8’s that still work in the process. But this is just my opinion based upon the info my BAPO picked up at ATF.
Given that my county have had no No.8s for years I would hope that means we are are first on the list!
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Not if they want to do a 1:1 swap 
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this is the point i was trying to make!
Just received an email about SATT dates in the email contained information saying that…
the No8 WILL be removed from service in early September
We can infer that
a) the No8 safety case will not be extended and
b) The procurement or system or fielding plan will let us down and no rifles will be available from September.
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Which year?? They were supposed to have gone when my father was a cadet, and he paraded on the 25th anniversary… 
Ok… 2016…
Apparently no reprieve, extensions it goes…
And u just had it confirmed by 2 others
So would that be a pause in shooting then??
Join the air training corps and Learn to pause…
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Oh marvellous…
The initial contract was going to be something like 750 new rifles? I have a figure in my head (from the original details regarding extending the safety case) that the total number of (serviceable?) No 8 rifles across the Cadet organisations was about 6700.
Not extending the safety case for the No 8 rifle will leave cadet shooting in a very poor state. For those that want to set up their own indoor air rifle range, I can help - but not sure if HQAC could provide the necessary support for a while to survey your premises.
Apparently it will be the L144A1 Cadet Small Bore Target Rifle, though naturally I have received nothing through official channels.
Someone has taken the number - but for quite some time in the future (British Army weapons of the 2300’s)!
Machine Gun, Gauss, 4.5mm, L144A1
The L144 is the heavier barrelled variant of the L142, designated a Light Support Weapon. It shares many of the characteristics of the L142 including combination 4.5mm/30mm weapon systems. The heavier barrel and light bipod give the weapon slightly increased range, accuracy and muzzle velocity and the ability to sustain fire for longer periods.
Whilst the L142 had a relatively easy introduction into service the L144 has had a more troubled time. The planned 200 round cassette proved unreliable forcing the weapon to use the standard 60 round magazines. More seriously the volume of fire generated by the weapon are deemed to be too low, and the 4.5mm too light a round for the fireteam suppressive fire task. Consequently the L144 is being replaced by the L95 machine gun in most front-line units. The weapon remains in some units as a marksman’s rifle and in UKDF units in the LSW role.
Type: 4.5 mm Gauss Light Support Weapon with 30mm GL
Country: Britain
Weight: 5.5 kg (unloaded)
Length: 70cm ( Bulk = 2)
Action: Single Shots or Bursts
Ammunition: 4.5x20mm flechette
Muzzle Velocity: 1750mps
Magazine: 60 rnd box magazine with integral power cell
Magazine Weight: 0.3 kg
ROF: 5
Aimed Fire Range: 950m
Area Fire Burst: 20 ( AFV = 2)
Area Fire Range: 500m
DP Value: 0.7
Price: Lv 550 (Lv2 per disposable magazine)
Made by the Stevens plant in I believe Canada and marketed by Savage , the base model can be got for $150 in Walmart so it just shouts quality.
When looking for a .308/7.62 a couple of years ago I was offered a Savage , I was so impressed by the Savage I spent a “bit” more on a 40yr old Enfield Enforcer instead and adding another with target sights shortly.
Is that from Twilight 2300?
So essentially yes, though I got my terminology wrong. It has been a while since I saw it referenced.
2300AD is a follow-on to GDW’s Twilight: 2K game.
I’d probably trust them to design a cadet weapon system more that I’d trust whoever picked the specs for the one we are getting.
It will be interesting to find out the unit price.
Camp Perry Shooting can do a “deal” of about £740 for an Anschutz 1903 Junior, so I’m sure that a bulk MOD bulk buy could have knocked off a few more £££. Well worth it for the quality, even for a reduced number of rifles. No stock or post-purchase issues either.