IMI Tavor TAR-21

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The IMI Tavor TAR-21 is a gas operated, selective fire magazine fed Israeli assault rifle developed by Israeli Military Industries (now privatized as Israeli Weapons Industries). It has a bull-pup configuration and is chambered for 5.56x45mm NATO cartridges.


Design

Development of the Tavor assault rifle began in 1991 in close cooperation with the Israeli Defense Force to replace the M16, M4 and IMI Galil assault rifles. The rifle first appeared in public in 1998, was tested by the IDF from 1999-2002 and is currently in service with the IDF, slowly replacing the M16, M4 and Galil.[1] The Tavor has a Bull-pup configuration, meaning that the Bolt carrier group, magazine housing and other major components are placed behind the pistol grip and trigger. This design gives the Tavor a smaller overall length than the M4, while having a longer barrel length.[2] A smaller weapon length gives the soldier a smaller silhouette, and makes tasks like turning corners in urban warfare quicker and easier. The Tavor's design also gives it a centre of gravity towards the rear of the weapon, which makes shooting while moving easier.[3] The Tavor utilizes a long piston stroke, rotating bolt action, with the gas piston rigidly attached to the bolt carrier.[4] The gas cylinder is located above the barrel and is completely enclosed by the gun housing. The rotating bolt is similar to the bolt found in the M16 assault rifle and has seven lugs.[5] The rifle is ambidextrous, the ejection port openings being on both sides of the weapon, although configuring whether the rifle ejects spent cases from the left or right side means installing the bolt with the ejector on the right or left side, and to do this requires partial disassembly. The Tavor has a red dot sight attached directly to the barrel, so the sight is always aligned with the barrel.[6] The rifle is made out of lightweight composite materials and is designed ergonomically. The Tavor rifles are fitted with a picantinny rail on the top of the gun, and can be fitted with a 40mm grenade launcher.

Variants

The Tavor is manufactured in variants: The standard Tavor TAR 21, The Tavor CTAR 21, the STAR 21, the Micro Tavor and a civilian semi-auto only model. The standard Tavor TAR-21 has a total length of 725mm, has a barrel length of 460mm and a net weight of 3270 grams.[7] The Tavor CTAR 21 is a compact version of the TAR-21 and has a total length of 640mm, a barrel length of 380mm, and a net weight of 3180 grams.[8] The Tavor STAR-21 a sharpshooter/designated marksman version of the TAR-21 and has a total length of 725mm, a barrel length of 460mm and a net weight of 3670 grams.[9] The Micro Tavor MTAR-21 is a smaller version of the Tavor that can fire either 5.56x45mm NATO cartridges that the other models fire, or can be converted to fire 9x19mm cartridges.[10] The Micro tavor MTAR-21 has a total length of 590mm, a barrel length of 330mm and a net weight of 2950 grams.[11]


References

  1. http://world.guns.ru/assault/as30-e.htm
  2. http://world.guns.ru/assault/as17-e.htm
  3. http://www.israel-weapon.com/default.asp?catid={BE33B6E6-080B-45B8-AD85-C4E1E40D0422}&details_type=1&itemid={122B7EE5-1F2D-4484-9FE4-B47C746BC62A}
  4. http://world.guns.ru/assault/as30-e.htm
  5. http://world.guns.ru/assault/as30-e.htm
  6. http://world.guns.ru/assault/as30-e.htm
  7. http://www.israel-weapon.com/default.asp?catid={BE33B6E6-080B-45B8-AD85-C4E1E40D0422}&details_type=1&itemid={122B7EE5-1F2D-4484-9FE4-B47C746BC62A}
  8. http://www.israel-weapon.com/default.asp?catid={BE33B6E6-080B-45B8-AD85-C4E1E40D0422}&details_type=1&itemid={122B7EE5-1F2D-4484-9FE4-B47C746BC62A}
  9. http://www.israel-weapon.com/default.asp?catid={BE33B6E6-080B-45B8-AD85-C4E1E40D0422}&details_type=1&itemid={122B7EE5-1F2D-4484-9FE4-B47C746BC62A}
  10. http://www.israel-weapon.com/default.asp?catid={4AA7FF40-97C6-4FBE-84E0-0A7296A542EC}&details_type=1&itemid={594A2DDE-8307-4C77-858B-6735746A3E18}
  11. http://www.israel-weapon.com/files/Pdf/MICRO_TAVOR.pdf