The Ministry of Defence has refreshed plans for Project SHAMER to overhaul the UK’s sniper rifle replacement effort, expanding the scope, raising the budget, and pushing the programme back by 9 months.
The notice, published on 29 October and updated this week, confirms that the earlier February 2025 tender has been overtaken by a broader programme with a later start date and a budget that has grown from the original “£1–4 million” to an estimated “£20,000,000 including VAT.”
The February notice sought what it described as a “single chassis, multi-calibre, bolt action sniper rifle” to replace the L115A3 and L118. The new document makes clear that SHAMER is no longer a simple rifle purchase. DE&S now expects the requirement to include “Sniper Weapon Systems,” along with “ancillary equipment (e.g. suppressors, bipods, carrying systems)” and full “through-life support and maintenance.”
The technical baseline has also widened. The system must use in-service .338LM and 7.62×51 NATO, while introducing .300NM as a new calibre in UK service. The adoption of .300 Norma Magnum signals a move towards longer-range precision and closer alignment with NATO trends, something absent from the February specification.
The timeline has shifted as well. The earlier plan aimed for a June 2026 contract start, but the new notice states that “the estimated contract start date is March 2027” after a fresh tender expected in January 2026. DE&S note that “this notice is not a call for competition” and that the department “reserves the right to amend the scope and approach based on feedback received.”
The November notice stresses that it is not a call for competition and reserves the right to alter scope and approach after receiving industry feedback. That suggests the February procurement route has been abandoned, with SHAMER redesigned as a wider capability package rather than a straightforward rifle replacement.
With the L115A3 and L118 nearing the end of their serviceable lives, the need is clear. The expanded scope, new calibre requirement and through-life support package indicate a more serious attempt to modernise the sniper weapons inventory.
