An IDF infantry soldier armed with an Israeli-made Tavor rifle takes part in an urban warfare drill. (photo credit: Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
Posted on 01/16/2013 6:32:52 AM PST by Pharmboy
Army transitioning to Israeli-made assault rifle for all units, according to report
An IDF infantry soldier armed with an Israeli-made Tavor rifle takes part in an urban warfare drill. (photo credit: Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
The IDF is phasing out its American-made M-16 assault rifles and replacing them with its Israeli-made Tavor assault rifles, according to a report on Maariv’s website NRG.
The Tavor — featuring a very different design than the M-16, developed for the IDF’s needs by Israel Military Industries during the 1990s — was introduced into service with regular infantry troops in the early 2000s, and slowly integrated to increasingly larger numbers of units throughout the decade. During that period, some M-16s, designed in the Vietnam era, were altered to better meet the IDF’s needs, while others were removed from service; the M-16 increasingly became a weapon for reservists.
As the NRG report noted, there are now a large number of soldiers in the reserves who did not use the American assault rifle during their compulsory military service. To standardize the weaponry for reservists, the report said, senior infantry commanders have decided to completely phase out the M-16s in favor of the Tavor.
The move is a reversal of sorts from the time when the IDF replaced its stock of Galil rifles — the Israeli-designed weapons that were based on a derivative of the ubiquitous Russian AK-47 — with the American M-16s.
I’ve always wanted one of those,,, that one is nice...
I’ve always wanted one of those,,, that one is nice...
Evidently the Tavor bull pup comes in short AND long barreled versions. (See the Indian Tavors above). In a bull pup design, the barrel goes nearly the full length of the shoulder stock anyway—so even the shortest ones have a 16” barrel.
Also the Israelis still use conventional Galli sniper-rifles for long range...
Thanks, yeah, I see that.
God Bless the nation of Israel!!!!!!!!!
What’s the effective point target range on that thing? Can’t be more than a few hundred yeards. Not good for open fighting. Thankfully the AK is terrible as well in that arena.
Also, in the story pic, the soldier is a lefty and the ejection port is on the left side. In the Indian soldier pic, the ejection port is on the right side. I would hope it would be an option, since a lefty shooter would not be able to use a bullpup rifle with the ejection port on the right side.
Three reasons.
1: most Israeli troops move in Nagmashot and Nakpadon Armored Personnel Carriers/Infantry Fighting Vehicles, rather than lesser vehicles more vulnerable to mines/IEDs and wire-guided antitank guided missiles. Room is tight inside the Centurion tank-based APCs, as it is in the back of an older M113/Zelda APC or a Merkava or helicopter.
2: Much of the IDF's serious and personal work is done up close and at night. The Tavor offers the opportunity for barrel change and interesting novelties on the muzzle end without excessively compromising performance. Electrooptical night sights are also a factor, adding weight that can be partially compensated for with a shorter and lighter barrel.
3: The M16 family weapons became common due to their being provided as US military FMAP equipment programs, their cost being about a third of a Israeli-built Galil or Glilon. There's not likely to be much more of that after the Israelis nuke Iran. And if they don't nuke Iran, it won't matter what kind of rifles the IDF has.
5,56mm NATO, the SS109 or U.S. M855 round. The Tavorim I've fired had a barrel with a military 1:7 twist. The Tavor has a interchangable barrel in which only one mounting lug has to be disengaged which is on the right side of the weapon behind the pistol grip, maybe not quite as fast as an Australian AusSteyer or Austrian AUG, but removable/replacable within a minute or two.
Also the Serbian Vojska Srbije , in particular their 72nd Reconnaissance-Commando Battalion , which is evaluating about everything available in the world and can have whatever they want. They're fond of the AUG/AusSteyers, too:
Some Tavors have recently turned up in Mexico as well.
They turned up at the SHOT show in Las Vegas last week. *article here.*
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