L86 LSW

The BAE Systems L86 LSW is a Light Support Weapon used by the British Armed Forces. It is featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It is one of two already unlocked LMGs the player starts out with in multiplayer.

History
The L86 LSW is a British LMG made under the SA-80 programme, along with the L85 assault rifle and the later L22 Carbine to replace the L1A1 battle rifle in 1987. Featuring a longer barrel than the L85 as well as a bipod, the L86 has a greater range of effectiveness and a larger muzzle velocity. The L86 LSW cannot be used for sustained fire as it is not belt-fed, however it is used to support a section during attacks using suppressive fire. It is very similar to its assault rifle counter-part, as it is simply a light support weapon conversion. Other machine guns that are based on assault rifles include the AUG HBAR and the RPK. It is still in use to date with the British Army however has been re-designated a Designated Marksman Rifle as its heavier barrel makes it much more accurate than the original L85 assault rifle. It also has a newer version of the SUSAT scope with greater magnification. The FN Minimi is currently used in the light support role.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
The L86 is a LSW (Light Support Weapon) used by the British Armed Forces. It has been featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It is available when the player first starts multiplayer. It kills in 2-3 shots (depending on stopping power) in standard multiplayer game types and 1 in hardcore games. It is quite accurate for a machine gun but only if short, controlled bursts are used. It has a high range, and could even be used as an automatic Sniper Rifle, if the Bling perk is used to attach a Thermal Scope and Grip. When the ACOG Scope attachment is equipped, it takes the appearance of the British SUSAT sight which is standard on all L85 and L86 rifles. On the level Loose Ends, three L86s can be found next to a window held up by their bipods. All of these weapons have the correct SUSAT scope, with a needle in place of the ACOG crosshair. However, the SUSAT sight is given very little magnifaction, in reality it should be x4. The weapon also has a drum magazine, unlike the real one which uses 30 round STANAG magazines. It also has very large magazines, being able to hold 100 rounds at a time.

The L86 does the most damage per second out of all of the weapons, excluding shotguns. However, this is balanced, due to its high recoil when firing full auto at long range and difficult-to-use iron sights (which some argue are the worst in the game). Firing 2 shots quickly with stopping power at a target will almost always guarantee a kill.

Weapon Attachments

 * Grip (Marksman I)
 * Red Dot Sight (Marksman II)
 * EOTech Holographic Weapon Sight(60 kills while aiming down the Red Dot Sight)
 * Silencer (Marksman III)
 * Heartbeat Sensor (15 kills with the silencer attached)
 * ACOG Scope / SUSAT (Marksman IV) -
 * Thermal Scope (20 kills while aiming down ACOG)
 * FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) (Marksman V)
 * Extended Mags (40 kills with Bullet Penetration while using FMJ)

Inaccuracies

 * The foregrip is the same as the one found on the L85, while in reality it is shortened to make room for the extended barrel rails.
 * Although technically a 100-round drum magazine like the BETA C-mag would fit into the L86 LSW, as the SA80 series of weapons is STANAG compliant, such magazines are plagued with feed problems which are exacerbated by rugged conditions. Consequently, military organizations would never use them in reality. The standard L85 28-30 Round STANAG magazine is used on the LSW in real life. However, this may have been done for balance purposes, as all the other machine-guns have larger magazines.
 * It should also be noted that a BETA C-mag would make the L85 extremely difficult to wield as it is a bullpup rifle. The large bulky C-mag would simply get in the way of the shooters trigger arm,and would force the shooter to chicken-winging in real-life, stressing out the shooting arm and make aiming harder.
 * A grip is normally placed behind the magazine, (closer to the rifleman), as when in the prone position, the rifleman's right hand should be on the trigger, and the left hand on the vertical grip behind the magazine. The grip is actually there without any attachments being put on, but it is not used by the player.
 * The pickup icon shows the L85 infantry rifle, rather than the L86 LSW. However in the Museum, the correct pick-up icon is used.
 * It also has incorrect iron sights and cocking handle; the cocking handle shown was used by the old, now redundant L86 (it has since been replaced by a crescent shaped tab), and the profile of the ironsights is extremely low (nearly flush to the weapon's frame), suggesting that in order to be properly used, the shooter must tilt his head a full 90 degrees in order to see through them properly.
 * The L86 Rifle's modern day usage is actually primarily as a Sniper's Support weapon (it features a longer barrel, for accuracy up to 600m, and a smaller magazine than in-game). It is interesting IW chose the L86 featuring the LSW set-up as an LMG with a drum magazine, when typically, this role is taken up by the L110 "Minimi".
 * The iron sights on the weapon should be on a carry handle.
 * The weapon never has the handle that is near the handguard attached.
 * The Weapon handing drills are wrong - in real life the right hand does not leave the pistol grip and all drills are conducted with the left hand (the magazine release catch is also on the left hand side of the weapon)

Trivia

 * It is unknown how Russian mercenaries/ultranationalists would have L86 LSWs as seen in Loose Ends. The L86 LSW is not a surplus weapon, and it is used exclusively by the British Armed forces. However the game is set many years in the future, and it may have become a surplus weapon by that time.
 * The L86 LSW is one of the few weapons where an attached Heartbeat Sensor will be fully visible when aiming down the sight (Assuming a thermal scope isn't also attached).