Israeli assault rifle TAR 21 – a competitor of AUG, FAMAS and SA80

By TOC

PANAGYURISHTE, ($1=1.65 Bulgarian Levas) – While the Israeli army is gradually removing the Galil assault rifle, replacing it with the American M16A3 and M16A4 5.56×45 mm, IMI is actively starting to develop the latest rifle of the same caliber.

Israeli assault rifle TAR 21 - a competitor of AUG, FAMAS and SA80
Photo credit: Wikipedia

The new rifle was developed from the very beginning according to the bullpup scheme. By the beginning of the last decade of the last century, weapon designers had gained some experience: the AUG rifle was developed in Austria, the FAMAS rifle in France, and the SA 80 (L85) in the United Kingdom. Using all the experience gained, the Israelis managed to avoid many mistakes.

The body of the Tavor TAR-21 assault rifle is made of reinforced polymers, which are not inferior in mechanical characteristics to more traditional materials, but at the same time are significantly lighter. Such a characteristic of the weapon, assembled according to the scheme of a bullpup, as a shift in the center of gravity, which negatively affects the accuracy of firing, was taken into account. Finally, the axis of the Tavor TAR-21 stock is in line with the barrel, which significantly reduces the recoil effect.

After completion of development, in 2000 the Tavor TAR-21 rifle was handed over to experts for examination and testing of a stand. In 2002, the Tavor TAR-21 entered military trials, and in 2004 various units of the Israeli army and the Interior Ministry began accepting it.

Currently, along with the new rifle with its design, M16 rifles with various modifications are still in service in the Israeli army. Israel has not fully armed its Tavor TAR-21 army due to their high cost. The price of this weapon is approximately $ 1,000, and the M16 provided by the United States is within $ 100.

A few years ago, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine negotiated with IMI on the licensed production of Tavor TAR-21 rifles and their modifications at the Fort plant.

Tavor TAR-21 is also available in variants such as:

  • GTAR -21 – assault complex with 40 mm sub-barrel grenade launcher;
  • CTAR -21 – assault rifle with a barrel length of 380 mm;
  • STAR -21 – small arms shooting;
  • MTAR -21 – subcompact assault rifle with a barrel length of 330 mm. The carbine in the field can be converted into a submachine gun with a 9 × 19 mm Parabellum cartridge.

Technical characteristics:

Country of origin – Israel, Ukraine (under license)
Cartridge type – .223 Remington (5.56 × 45 mm NATO) SS109, M855, 5.56 × 30 mm
Length – 720 mm
Barrel length – 460 mm
Weight – 3.27 kg
Magazine capacity – 20 and 30 rounds
Rate of fire – 750-900 rds/min
Sighting range – 550 m

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