#Iwi

According to a press release I was sent, the Pennsylvania State Capitol Police have adopted the IWI US Tavor SAR rifle. I don’t usually blog about police acquisitions but it is noteworthy that they adopted a bullpup rather than the usual M4-style carbine. Here at TFB most of us love the Tavor. One writer has just purchased one, another is seriously contemplating it and I would love to acquire one myself when finances allow. It is also a favorite of Tim from the Military Arms Channel.

This wooden rubber band replica of the Desert Eagle is very impressive. The slide “blows” back when the trigger is pulled and an empty “cartridge” is ejected.

Mac from the Military Arms Channel toured the IWI factory earlier this year. He published a number of photographs which indicate that IWI have silently updated the design of the IWI Tavor X-95. The newer model Tavor X-95 rifles features a different handguard and rail  (see above photo). Compared to the older round handguard (see below), the new handguard is much more angular. It looks better in my option, and is probably more ergonomic. The IWI website and brochures still features the old design and I have not received any press releases announcing an updated design. What do you think of the redesign?

Mexican Federal Police have adopted the IWI’s next-gen lightweight machine gun, the Negev . The gun is not a lot bigger than a rifle and can be configured to fire from a belt, an AR-15 or Galil magazine. The video below (not graphic, safe for work) shows Mexican Federal Police being ambushed in the mountains near Michoacan, Mexico last week. You can see a policeman using the Negev at the start of the video.

Unbeknownst to us, the Tanzanian Special Forces adopted the IWI Galil MAR compact carbine along with Meprolight Sights and Bulgarian night vision googles. The troops in these photos are taking part in a multinational training exercise as part of the United Nations Intervention Brigade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

IWI’s Galil ACE rifle, a modern version of the Galil, has been making significant inroads in the South and Central American markets. This video from Vice shows soldiers patrolling with the Galil ACE (00:50 onwards).

Nguoiduatin.vn reports that Israeli Weapons Industry is looking to open a factory in Vietnam to produce weapons for the Far East market. They could invest up to $100 million int he plant. The Vietnamese military have adopted a wide range of  Israeli small arms including the Tavor, Negev LMG, Galil SAR rifle and Galil Sniper rifle.

I wouldn’t hesitate at all in saying the Tavor is one of the most anticipated guns to come down the pike in a good while. We have had a pretty good wait before they finally arrived on the market but as I write this distributors are beginning to get them in quantity.

Two new Tavor videos hit YouTube showing off this increasingly popular firearm.  The first is a professionally produced video from ZAHAL and IWI.  This video uses the full auto X95 version of the gun and runs it through some water and mud testing.

The Big 3 East in Florida is an expansion of the original Big 3 event held at Kansas every Fall.  Both events were started by writers for writers. The Big 3 stands for Tactical gun, Tactical gear and Tactical training. All the companies and writers were handpicked and by invitations only. The Big 3 East event in Florida was organized by Dillard (CJ) Johnson, a highly decorated retired US Army vet and former PMC. Special thanks to  WPA (Wolf Performance Ammunition) for providing the ammo, Action Target providing the steel targets and Revision Military providing the eye protections for the event.

It has been a long time coming but finally consumers in the USA will be able to purchase a Tavor rifle. Pricing starts at $1,999. From the press release …

The SHOT show started out with a bang. Media Day at the range was held with a very large number of vendors and media attendees including The Firearm Blog team.

The IWI US Inc. website has gone live and they have announced the models and pricing for the USA version of the Tavor SAR rifle. The rifle will be available in 16.5″ and variants and with or without a bayonet lug. There will be one left handed version. All the models are chambered in 5.56mm and shipped with a 30 round magazine.

Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) has announced their new US subsidiary IWI USA Inc. The new company has leased a 21,000 sq. ft. facility in Harrisburg, PA. They plan on selling the TAVOR SAR rifle in a number of different configurations as well as the UZI Pro pistol. These guns will be on display at SHOT Show next month.

A couple of days ago I reported that RPC Fort was manufacturing Tavor rifles under license chambered in 5.45x39mm. Israel Weapon Industries, the designers of the Tavor, have since announced that they too are manufacturing Tavor X95 rifles chambered in 5.45x39mm.