Tel Aviv: The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) infantry brigades will get some thousands of Israeli made Micro- TAVOR (X95) assault rifles. The contract was signed between Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) and the Israel Ministry of Defence’s Department of Production and Procurement – Ground Weapons Division.
The Micro-TAVOR rifle has been in IDF active duty and reserves service since 2006. Its bull pup configuration platform creates an ergonomic and short firearm with a long barrel, giving it superior ballistics compared to other platforms.
The current order is for the 5.56x45mm caliber Micro-TAVOR with a 380mm and 419mm – barrel length. The firearm is equipped with M-1913 picatinny rails enabling the mounting of essential accessories such as sights, lights, and visual and IR illuminators necessary for modern warfare.
This order joins previous IWI contracts for the IDF, such as the Negev LMG (light machine gun) and the 40mm grenade launcher that can be mounted on to the Micro-TAVOR rifle.
Ronen Hamudot, Executive VP Marketing and Sales of the SK Group said, “We are proud of the IDF’s decision to, once again, choose the small arms advanced solutions manufactured by IWI. This is a fruitful cooperation between the company and the IDF that has been in place for many years, and which reflects the Ministry of Defence’s confidence in SK Group’s solutions in the light weapons sector. The Micro- TAVOR advanced design and technology was developed in collaboration with the elite units of Israel Defence Forces (IDF). During its development every technological and ergonomic aspect was taken into consideration. We are proud to say that today it is the standard IDF assault rifle.”
The (X95) Micro-TAVOR is an innovative weapon system that can be converted in minutes to 4 calibers 5.56x45mm, 9x19mm 5.45x39mm and 300 BLK. This leap in innovation makes it possible to use the same weapon platform for highly diverse scenarios. Its compatibility with different ammunition calibers also saves training time and spare parts.
Designed to meet extreme demands in urban and open terrain combat environments. The X95 is manufactured exclusively for Military, Police, Special Forces and Law Enforcement agencies to deal with modern warfare challenges. It is manufactured from high strength impact resistant polymer combined with high grade metal and alloys providing a robust and reliable yet remarkably light weapon.
According to IWI, the rifle is exceptionally reliable even in the harshest conditions.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
