#LongBarrel

The Thales EF88 assault rifle has seen its first operational deployment, and the reception is reportedly very warm. According to an article in Defence Connect, the rifles were deployed with Task Group Taji 5 (5th rotation), a battalion of Australian Defence Force advisers for Iraqi forces deployed as part of Operation Okra. The article reads:

Within the United Kingdom, handguns are effectively banned, with the exception of Section 5 owners (armed security), Section 73 (Historically significant pieces), and Black Powder handguns. Thus, due to working around the obscure wording of the law, UK shooters have found a niche “Pistol Rifle” that actually fits within the parameters of both being a rifle in measurement, but for all intents and purposes a handgun in function. The result is essentially an ultra long barreled revolver or handgun, with a “stabilizing support”, designed to counter-act the weight of the longer barrel. The exact specification being that a rifle must have a minimum length of 24 inches, and a barrel length of 12 inches. It must also be noted that there isn’t any regulation against placing the stabilizer of the “Pistol-Rifle” to a shooters shoulders and firing it from that position. Unlike the regulations regarding the pistol stabilizing braces in the United States.