Armed British police (courtesy cnn.com)

“It is important we are prepared should the unthinkable happen.” – London Mayor Sadiq Khan in London deploys 600 extra [armed] police following terror attacks across Europe [via cnn.com]

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73 COMMENTS

  1. Can anyone explain to me why these high speed low drag guys have their front BUIS some distance from the front end of the rail?

    • Maybe out on the end, it is blocking a portion of the field of vision through the main optic. That is about the same position of an A2 front site. Maybe it is integrated with the gas block.

    • The front rail on a Sig MCX comes off with the handguard. That handguard easily slides off if you pull the front takedown pin. Sig swears up and down that zero doesn’t shift when you put the rail back on, but I’m not sure I’d trust that if I was asked to take a shot at a crowded tourist trap with civvies in the line of fire.

      • I think you probably nailed the answer. The front hand guard of an MPX is the same, and although the parts do have a very tight tolerance for reattachment fit, I don’t know that I would necessarily trust the front guard to retain zero on a BUIS at 100 meters.

        Then again, if these guys are needing to use their BUIS to take a 100+ meter shot in an urban environment, more than one things have gone very wrong, and they are probably using the wrong tool for the job.

    • James, if I had to guess, I’d say it’s so they can grip the handguard way out near the front end without interference from the front sight, which is currently in-vogue as one of the more popular ways to handle/control this style of firearm in rapid-fire use.

  3. Hey, can some of those guys come over here and teach our guys where to put their muzzles and trigger fingers?

  4. …and reality hits the Brits, but none of that ‘show of farce’ will stop what’s already been done pre-Brexit.

    • Terrorist cells will get clothing and gear to match these fellows.
      The average citizens won’t know who is who, and neither will the cops.

      • ^ This.

        Once again, I fall back on the exceedingly simple standard:
        (1) The bad guys are the people who are ATTACKING other people.
        (2) The good guys are the people who are NOT attacking other people.

        The following is IRRELEVANT and does NOT indicate whether someone is a good guy or bad guy:
        (1) Choice of clothing
        (2) Wearing a uniform
        (3) Having a visible firearm in hand
        (4) Having a visible firearm in a holster or slung over shoulder
        (5) Having no visible firearm

        And a final reminder: good guys may use firearms to defend themselves. Just because you see someone shooting at someone else does not mean that they are an attacker. They may be a defender.

      • I guess in UK-cop terms, they are ‘operators’ – much like 90% of our SLOB SWAT teams. If that’s the ‘we’re bad-ass propaganda’ reel, it’s obvious that if you own a fish and chips shop, you should be terrified when they get hungry.

        There’s nothing even remotely ex-SAS about watching that disjointed clusterfvck of tubbies, and quota hires – and they’ll never be where the terrorists strike anyway. But they will be the only subjects with the means to defend themselves while eventually responding to the call.

        • Wow.

          On your strong recommendation, I watched the video.

          I don’t know which is more disturbing. The actual content or the crotch licking comments.

          So: good review.

        • Wow, what a joke. Holy crap that was bad. My only understanding/experience with even basic combat tactics comes from airsoft, and even I can see how much is wrong with that. Jesus. To be fair though, it doesn’t look to me like self-promotion from the UK cops as much as someone who idolizes them and found a bunch of news footage, then spliced it all together. But yeah. SO MUCH FAIL

  6. Once again, a good show.

    Didn’t help the 5 knife victims in London last night, though.

    • Once you’ve disarmed the public and denied them the ability to provide for their own defense, you cannot ever admit that the state is (in reality) completely powerless to respond to all attacks in all places.

    • That crap they have (which is all it is in their hands) is good for offense of defending a specific thing or defined, limited area.

      These guys have no defined enemy, so what is the point?

      As you point out, it did NOTHING to save the American woman who bled to death on their streets.

      EU needs to STOP Muslim migration and all free cross border movement now or they are screwed.

      And for any offended Muslims: get your own house in order. You are the solution or the problem. Pick one!

    • Clearly the latter.

      The very definition of “Security Theater.”

      As someone pointed out last when this was mentioned in the Digest, what about all the metro areas that are NOT “London?”

      In regard to fighting terrorism, Britain has a cultural failure, not a police gear one. Hopefully, Brexit is the first step on the path to correct that failure.

  8. Is it just me or are those magazines half loaded? I don’t have any experience with transparent mags but it sure looks that way.

    • Looks like 2/3 ammo, 1/3 spring to me. (in other words, crammed full)

      But the guy in the middle looks to be carrying one or two less than the guy to the right of him. Maybe the other guy didn’t chamber a round, or swapped in a full mag after chambering a round.

    • To me, they appear to be full-loaded, or very close to it. The compressed spring and follower take up around 20%-30% of the interior space in an AR-style double-column rifle magazine. I have a brand-new fully loaded transparent Lancer L5AWM 30-shot AR mag sitting on my benchtop within reach, and when I measure along the rear edge, I get 7.5 inches from top to bottom, and 1.5 inches of that is compressed spring and follower.

  9. So is Sadiq Khan, the Muslim mayor of London, full Muslim or maybe just a little bit Muslim?

  10. All the gear and all the paramilitary costumes in the world won’t stop a box truck from plowing through a street full of people or stop some Jihadi from blowing himself up in line waiting to be searched entering the “tube.”

    But if it makes the plebes “feel” safe to pile the boots onto their throats who am I to stop them?

  11. Gosh, they look like an army.

    But they aren’t an army. They are police.

    And, as we were reminded in Orlando, police have neither the training nor the mindset to fight wars as warriors.

    When the next jihad happens, they will do what police normally do. They will show up and kill the evil mass murderer after he has murdered a mass.

    God help them, because they have no clue how to help themselves.

      • They’re starting to re-learn lessons from the days of Sinn Féin and Black September.

        Their media is now speculating they might have to stop giving them the publicity they crave by no longer publishing their names after the attacks.

        (It worked so well with the likes of Gerry Adams, doncha know.)

        Cripes…

  13. Looks like a fine group of Storm Troopers, serving their duly elected Muslim Mayor.

    Hopefully some will wake up to the fact that theses fine folks will be raiding the homes of Native Londoners before they set foot in a Mosque or round up a single Muslim.

  14. Looks to me like they are nervous – overreacting.

    We had a neighborhood closed off this morning looking for a dude – unarmed mind you – who had ‘kidnapped’ his girlfriend. Closed off the beach area and a few miles of roads, cops from three cities and the local sheriffs resources, of course, the town MRAP, and lord only knows what else they called out.

    Now we haven’t been told the whole story of course, and I don’t know the real history on this guy and the potential for violence here, but it sounds a lot like dumb-ass got drunk last night and threw his girlfriend in the car and drove her around against her will. Guy gave up peacefully within a few hours, no doubt he woke up in the bushes somewhere and found out about all the excitement.

    Regardless of the specifics, this is the kind of thing that a few years back would have been handled by a few patrol cars and they would have rounded the guy up. When things actually get exciting, then backup gets called.

    This is not good, all these itchy trigger fingers means Rover needs to start thinking about making final arrangements. *Not*to*mention* all the money this is costing the taxpayers for adding to all this danger.

    Not good.

  15. The Brits almost have it right:

    “I think people understand that where you are going to have people as enemies who’ve got guns, we’ve got to have guns.

    ‘It’s unusual, but it’s an entirely rational and reasonable response to make sure that people are aware that we’ve got the guns, and if we have to use them we’ve got people well-equipped to do that.'”

    • Well, the Brits are half way there. They recognize that:
      (a) There is a deadly threat to people in London.
      (b) Their best tool to have in hand to stop the deadly threat is a firearm.

      I cannot help but wonder how long it will take average people in London to realize that they should have a firearm as well. Oh, who am I kidding …

  16. The best weapon is a native population with the backbone to round the rats up and neutralize the threat.
    Have them stepping and fetching like their arse is on fire and their heads is a catching.

  17. U guys can make fun of these guys if u want, but if i was in the middle of a terrorist attack, i would rather have these dudes coming than some bobbies with a nightstick and whistle!

    • michael,

      How about this as an answer to your false dichotomy:

      An armed citizenry that does not have to wait for ANY agent of the state (operator as f*&k or armed only with nightsticks).

      Disarmed citizenry is immoral on its face. There simply is no moral justification for The State denying citizens the right to self defense and the tools thereof. The only purpose for doing so is Statist Control of said citizens.

  19. As an aside, please don’t follow the example of the man in the center. If your chest plate is so low that it is near nipple line and your groin guard is slapping your knees, you’re doing it wrong. All for show, kids.

  20. As far as i know, u cannot properly defend yourself in G.B., not even a knife, if i recall. So hypothetically, if i was in g.b. during an attack, u cant tell me u wouldnt rather have these guys around. Now, if in usa, thats a different situation. Im all for taking care of my own defense. But we r talking about the oppressed people of g.b., correct? Good luck defending yourself there. Hope u have a couple rocks or a stick nearby. So yes, id rather have these tacticooled out operaters than some bobbies. ( it was sarcasm towards british policing in 1st post, but obviously it wasnt recieved as such)

    • That’s correct. Hell, with a bit of digging, you can even find a shocking number of stories about home invasions in England, where the homeowner beat the invader off with a cricket bat or golf club or what have you, and then THEY end up spending time in prison. Not only do their laws not allow subjects to own the tools of self defense, but they don’t even have provisions for defending oneself! It’s completely insane and utterly ass-backwards. And the pathetic, spineless slaves of the UK look down on us for out self defense laws? Weak people sure do love their chains….

      • Sad thing is when I looked at the comments on some news sites concerning the stabbing incident.

        The commenters rejected the idea of self defense and some even condemned saying they were better off getting injured or killed by a knife than a gun.

        Then they went on about how the UK is “safe and civilized” and that the US is a third world backwards hellhole. And trot out the homicide crime rates as usual.

  22. “should the unthinkable happen”

    Me thinks the “unthinkable” is “thinkable.” Like Muslims with weapons killing and hurting people.

    That or its just good old fashioned statism.

  23. Why do the police special operator teams ALWAYS have their faces covered?

    In Mexico I understand.

  26. TTAG never fails to amaze and dismay me. An article putting forth a serious point in the way Europe is reacting to the terrorist attacks, and all most of the geniuses on here can do is make idiotic comments that would be juvenile from adolescents, let alone supposedly grown men.

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