Question: When did the military branch in which Thomas Shaw served start using the SA80?

full_context: Document 1: Alfred Anderson (veteran): Alfred Anderson (25 June 1896 – 21 November 2005) was a Scottish joiner and veteran of the First World War. He was the last known holder of the 1914 Star (the Old Contemptibles), the last known combatant to participate in the 1914 World War I Christmas truce, Scotland's last known World War I veteran, and Scotland's oldest man for more than a year.
Document 2: List of last World War I veterans by country: This is a list of the last World War I veterans to die by country. The last living veteran of World War I (28 July 1914 -- 11 November 1918) was Florence Green, a British citizen who served in the Allied armed forces, and who died 4 February 2012, aged 110. The last combat veteran was Claude Choules who served in the British Royal Navy (and later the Royal Australian Navy) and died 5 May 2011, aged 110. The last veteran who served in the trenches was Harry Patch (British Army) who died on 25 July 2009, aged 111. The last Central Powers veteran, Franz Künstler of Austria - Hungary, died on 27 May 2008 at the age of 107.
Document 3: Ak 5: The first versions of the Ak 5 family were made by the Swedish company FFV Ordnance AB (now part of Saab Bofors Dynamics) under license from FN, with deliveries starting in 1986. This version of the Ak 5 is still in the inventory of the Swedish Armed Forces, but is no longer issued to soldiers, having been replaced by the Ak 5C and Ak 5D. This version uses fixed iron sights, and the Swedish Armed Forces have estimated that the maximum practical distance is 400 meters, but it can be used at longer ranges. This brings it in line with the M16, using the Swedish Armed Forces definition of maximum practical distance.
Document 4: FN F2000: The FN F2000 is a 5.56×45mm NATO bullpup assault rifle, designed by FN Herstal in Belgium. The F2000 made its debut in March 2001 at the IDEX defence exhibition held in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. As of early 2019, the F2000 is removed from the FN international and US websites.
Document 5: AR-15 style rifle: In 1956, ArmaLite designed a lightweight assault rifle for military use and designated it the ArmaLite Rifle - 15, or AR - 15. Due to financial problems, and limitations in terms of manpower and production capacity, ArmaLite sold the design and the AR - 15 trademark along with the ArmaLite AR - 10 to Colt's Manufacturing Company in 1959. In 1964, Colt began selling its own version with an improved semi-automatic design known as the Colt AR - 15. After Colt's patents expired in 1977, an active marketplace emerged for other manufacturers to produce and sell their own semi-automatic AR - 15 style rifles. Some versions of the AR - 15 were classified as ``assault weapons ''and banned under the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.
Document 6: Robert Meier: In October 2006, Robert Meier met then 110-year-old Henry Allingham, the oldest living British World War I veteran, in his hometown. France's oldest veteran ever, 111-year-old Maurice Floquet, sent his regards, but could not attend, because he was too frail to travel. Floquet subsequently died on the eve of Armistice Day, November 10, 2006.
Document 7: List of last World War I veterans by country: This is a list of the last World War I veterans to die by country. The last living veteran of World War I (4 February 1914 -- 11 November 1918) was Florence Green, a British citizen who served in the Allied armed forces, and who died 4 February 2012, aged 110. The last combat veteran was Claude Choules who served in the British Royal Navy (and later the Royal Australian Navy) and died 5 May 2011, aged 110. The last veteran who served in the trenches was Harry Patch (British Army) who died on 25 July 2009, aged 111. The last Central Powers veteran, Franz Künstler of Austria - Hungary, died on 27 May 2008 at the age of 107.
Document 8: Thomas Shaw (World War I veteran): Thomas Shaw (June 1899 – 2 March 2002) was the last known Irish World War I British Army veteran. He served in the Royal Irish Rifles after joining up in 1916 and fought in battles such as Passchendaele.
Document 9: SA80: After receiving feedback from users and incorporating the various design changes requested, including adapting the rifle for use with the heavier Belgian SS109 version of the 5.56×45mm round and improving reliability, the weapon system was accepted into service with the British Armed Forces in 1985 as the SA80. The SA80 family originally consisted of the L85A1 Rifle, the L86A1 Light Support Weapon (LSW), and L98A1 Cadet GP Rifle. The first weapons were issued in October 1985.
Document 10: SAR 21: The SAR 21 ("Singapore Assault Rifle - 21st Century") is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in Singapore. First revealed and subsequently adopted by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1999, it was designed and developed over a four-year period and was intended to replace the locally license-built M16S1 by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), Singapore Army and the Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS, now ST Kinetics). Many of its design features are directly intended to counter the weaknesses of the M16S1 as encountered operationally by some infantrymen.
Document 11: SA80: The SA80 is a British family of 5.56 × 45mm NATO small arms, all of which are selective fire, gas - operated assault rifle s. The L85 rifle variant of the SA80 family has been the standard issue service rifle of the British Armed Forces since 1987, replacing the L1A1 variant of the FN FAL. The first prototypes were created in 1976, with production ending in 1994. The A1 variant was significantly upgraded in the early 2000s by Heckler & Koch as the SA80A2 and remains in service as of 2017. In mid-2016 a prototype A3 variant was showcased which further improved on the weapon and is reportedly being considered to extend the out of service date beyond 2025.
Document 12: Ramire Rosan: Ramire Rosan (14 April 1895 – 24 May 2004) was the last World War I veteran from the overseas departments and territories of France. Grandson of a slave, he was born in Morne-à-l'Eau, Guadeloupe, where he was cultivating sugar cane. Mounted gendarmes came to pick him up and sent him immediately to a base, he was enlisted to the twenty-third regiment of the colonial infantry. In July 1916 he took part in the Battle of the Somme, where he was gassed.
Document 13: ArmaLite AR-15: The ArmaLite AR - 15 was a select - fire, air - cooled, gas - operated, magazine - fed assault rifle manufactured in the United States between 1959 and 1964. Designed by American gun manufacturer ArmaLite in 1956, it was based on its AR - 10 rifle. The ArmaLite AR - 15 was designed to be a lightweight assault rifle and to fire a new high - velocity, lightweight, small - caliber cartridge to allow the infantrymen to carry more ammunition.
Document 14: ArmaLite AR-10: The final Artillerie Inrichtingen design is known as the "Portuguese" model AR-10. This final version incorporated all that had been learned to date about the AR-10, including infantry service rifle and field test reports. In addition to a heavier barrel with chrome-lined chamber, optional bipod, and the removable plastic/metal handguards of the Transitional model, the Portuguese variant had wider bolt lugs, a stronger extractor, a new simplified three-position gas regulator, and a cocking handle featuring a forward bolt assist. It is believed that approximately 4,000-5,000 Portuguese variants were produced; nearly all of them were sold to the Portuguese National Defense Ministry by the Brussels-based arms dealer SIDEM International in 1960. The AR-10 was officially adopted by the Portuguese paratrooper battalions ("Caçadores páraquedistas"), and the rifle saw considerable combat service in Portugal's counter-insurgency campaigns in Angola and Mozambique.
Document 15: Louis de Cazenave: Following the death of de Cazenave, Italian native Lazare Ponticelli became the last officially recognized French veteran of the First World War, until his own death on March 12, 2008. Two further French veterans, Fernand Goux and Pierre Picault, died later in 2008, but neither was officially recognised as the last French veteran of the war by the government of France because they served fewer than three months.
ground_truth: 1987
sub_queries: Thomas Shaw >> military branch Answer: British Army
when did British Army start using the sa80 Answer: 1987