IWI Tavor

Origins

In the early 1990s the Israel Defense Forces relied on American M16s and M4-type carbines alongside the aging domestic IWI Galil. Planners wanted one rifle that was compact enough for mechanized infantry riding in armored vehicles and moving in close urban terrain, yet kept the range of a full-length barrel. A team at Israel Military Industries led by designer Zalmen Shebs developed a bullpup to that brief, drawing on field experience from Israeli units. Prototypes were tested through the late 1990s, and the Givati Brigade began receiving the TAR-21 for trials in the early 2000s. In 2005 the small-arms division was privatized as Israel Weapon Industries (IWI).

Design & Construction

In a bullpup the magazine and bolt sit behind the pistol grip, against the shooter's cheek. That lets the Tavor carry a barrel almost as long as a standard rifle's in a package as short as a carbine. A long-stroke gas piston, a rotating bolt similar to that of the AR-15, and a heavily polymer-built body keep it simple and resistant to sand and mud. Ejection can be switched to either side by swapping the bolt, so left-handed soldiers are not hit by spent cases. The rifle takes standard NATO M16 magazines. Early versions had an integral optical sight and a fixed rail; the later X95 moved the magazine release and added a full-length rail, and conversion kits allow other calibers.

Combat Use

The Tavor first saw combat with the IDF in the mid-2000s, including the 2006 Lebanon War, and has since been used in successive operations in Gaza and southern Lebanon. Infantry units including Givati, Golani, Nahal and Paratroopers moved to the TAR-21 and later the X95. In 2009 the IDF selected the Micro-Tavor X95 as its future standard infantry rifle. Export customers include special forces and police in India, Colombia, Brazil, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Georgia and many others. Ukraine's Fort company has made licensed versions, which have been used in the war that began in 2014.

Legacy

The Tavor is one of the few bullpup rifles to have succeeded as a general-issue arm, alongside the Steyr AUG and the FAMAS, and it shows the shift in modern infantry design toward compact rifles for vehicle and urban warfare. IWI US introduced the semi-automatic Tavor SAR to American civilians in 2013, followed by the X95 and the 7.62 mm Tavor 7. Together with the Uzi and the Galil it makes up a lineage of Israeli small arms that has armed forces worldwide, and it is the IDF's successor to the M16 Rifle.