TAR-21: Israel’s Tavor Spreads Its Wings

By James Tarr

When I heard that Israel was going to be fielding a new rifle to replace its M4s and M16s, my first reaction was, “What’s wrong with our rifle? Israel buys all of its military equipment from the United States,” I thought.

The truth is, Israel buys much of its military equipment from countries other than the United States, including France and Germany. It buys whatever it needs, from wherever it can be gotten, because let’s face it: Israel is surrounded by countries that do not wish it well.

In addition to purchasing whatever they can get, the Israelis are not strangers to small arm design. Their Merkava IV tank is perhaps the meanest-looking tank in the world, but they know small arms as well. The Galil assault rifle and the Uzi submachine gun are both very successful Israeli designs, which Americans would be much more familiar with if it weren’t for restrictive import laws. The Galil, basically an improved AK47, we fielded in numbers not just with the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) but in at least nine other countries including South Africa, where they called it the R4.

As for why they …Read the Rest

Source:: Guns and Ammo