There are currently over 169,000 active duty military in the Israeli Armed Forces. In light of the October 7, 2023 attack by the terrorist group Hamas that left more than 1,400 Israelis dead, Israel has prepared for what was first thought might be the longest war ever. They initially drafted 300,000 reservists, in addition to their active duty soldiers, and troops have been placed on the Gaza border in preparation. To date, there have been 395 IDF soldiers killed.
The Islamic Resistance Movement, known as Hamas has also taken over 200 people hostage, including children and the very elderly. Israel intends to root out this terrorist group by all means possible, and what artillery and air strikes are not able to accomplish will be left to the ground troops. This will require incredible manpower and even more firearms. (These are the national borders on the brink of war.)
Israel is unlike many other nations in that it manufactures a fair amount of its own small arms and has been doing so for over half a century. With the evolution of its arms industry over the years and the continual march forward of technology, Israeli firearms have only improved over time.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed a catalog of small arms from Military Factory to determine every gun used by the modern Israeli Military. We organized the small arms used by the Israeli Defense Force alphabetically. We also included supplementary data from Military Factory regarding the year of introduction, type, country of origin, manufacturer, firing action, maximum effective range, caliber, and feed.
Roughly a third of the firearms on the list are produced in-house by Israeli arms manufacturers, primarily by the company Israel Weapons Industries. While these firearms are manufactured in Israel, they mostly use standardized NATO rounds. Most of the rounds being used are of a smaller caliber, except for heavy machine guns and sniper rifles.
One of the newest guns in the Israeli arsenal is the IWI Galil ACE, which only entered service in 2008. Like many other Israeli-made firearms, the Galil ACE is chambered for the 5.56x45mm NATO or 7.62x51mm NATO rounds, with a maximum effective range of roughly 1,650 feet. It has also been used by multiple other militaries, including Ukraine and South Sudan. (These are the world’s top 20 most elite special forces.)
Here is a look at the small arms used by the Israeli Military:
Armsel Striker
Source: Rama / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Semi-automatic shotgun
- Country of origin: South Africa
- Manufacturer: Armsel / Sentinel Arms / Reutech Defense Industries
- Firing action: Semi-automatic; rotating cylinder
- Caliber & Feed: 12-gauge, 7- or 12-round revolving cylinder magazine
- Maximum effective range: 65 ft.
- Year introduced: 1983
Barrett M82
Source: Zachi Evenor / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Anti-tank / anti-material rifle
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Barrett Firearms
- Firing action: Semi-automatic; recoil-operated; rotating bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 12.7x99mm NATO, 10-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 1850 ft.
- Year introduced: 1982
Barrett MRAD (Multi-role adaptive design)
Source: MathKnight / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Bolt-action sniper
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Barrett Firearms
- Firing action: Manually-actuated bolt-action system
- Caliber & Feed: .388 Lapua Magnum, .300 Winchester Magnum, 7mm Remington Magnum, 10-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 4800 ft.
- Year introduced: 2012
Beretta Model 1951
Source: Produce / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Semi-automatic service pistol
- Country of origin: Italy
- Manufacturer: Beretta
- Firing action: Short-recoil; locked breech; semi-automatic
- Caliber & Feed: 9×19 parabellum; 7.65x21mm parabellum, 8- or 10-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 165 ft.
- Year introduced: 1951
BGM-71 TOW
Source: Public Domain / US Army
- Type: Anti-tank guided missile system
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Hughes Aircraft / Raytheon
- Firing action: Tube-launched; optically-tracked; wire-guided
- Caliber & Feed: 127mm / 152mm, Single shot; reusable
- Maximum effective range: 12303 ft.
- Year introduced: 1970
Browning Hi-Power / FN GP35
Source: Dragunova / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Country of origin: Belgium
- Manufacturer: Browning Arms / Fabrique Nationale
- Firing action: Short recoil-operated; semi-automatic
- Caliber & Feed: 9×19 parabellum, 7.65x21mm parabellum, .357 SIG, 13-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 131 ft.
- Year introduced: 1935
Browning M1919
Source: MCCallumPhoto / iStock via Getty Images
- Type: Medium machine gun
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: General Motors / Rock Island Arsenal
- Firing action: Gas-operated; belt-fed; air-cooled
- Caliber & Feed: 7.92x57mm Mauser, 30-06 Springfield, 7.62x51mm NATO, .303 British, 250-round fabric belt
- Maximum effective range: 4500 ft.
- Year introduced: 1919
Colt CAR-15 Commando
Source: Boksi / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Assault carbine / submachine gun
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Colt Firearms
- Firing action: Semi/full auto; gas-operated; locking bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm M193, 20- or 30-round detachable box
- Maximum effective range: 1320 ft.
- Year introduced: 1966
Colt M16
Source: zim286 / iStock via Getty Images
- Type: Infantry assault rifle
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Colt Firearms
- Firing action: Gas-operated, rotating bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 20- or 30-round detachable box
- Maximum effective range: 1800 ft.
- Year introduced: 1963
Colt M4
Source: zim286 / iStock via Getty Images
- Type: Assault carbine
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Colt Manufacturing / Remington Arms
- Firing action: Gas-operated; semi/full-automatic; locking bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 20- or 30-round detachable box
- Maximum effective range: 1640 ft.
- Year introduced: 1994
Colt M4A1 SOPMOD
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Carbine rifle with special forces modification kit
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Colt Firearms / Knights Armament
- Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 30-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 1968 ft.
- Year introduced: 1993
Dynamit Noble MATADOR
Source: MathKnight / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Man-portable, shoulder-fired rocket launcher
- Country of origin: Germany
- Manufacturer: Dynamit Nobel Defense / Rafael Advanced Defence Systems
- Firing action: Single-shot; disposable tube
- Caliber & Feed: 90mm, Single-shot
- Maximum effective range: 1600 ft.
- Year introduced: 2000
Fabrique Nationale FN MAG
Source: FN Herstal / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: General purpose machine gun
- Country of origin: Belgium
- Manufacturer: Fabrique Nationale
- Firing action: Gas-operated; open bolt; automatic fire only
- Caliber & Feed: 7.62x51mm NATO, Various, metal-link belt fed
- Maximum effective range: 3937 ft.
- Year introduced: 1958
General Dynamics Mk 47 Striker AGL
Source: Jasonkwe / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Automatic grenade launcher
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: General Dynamics
- Firing action: Short-recoil; belt-fed
- Caliber & Feed: 40x53mm, Belt-fed
- Maximum effective range: 5600 ft.
- Year introduced: 2006
Glock 17
Source: timothytsuihin / Flickr
- Type: Semi-automatic service pistol
- Country of origin: Austria
- Manufacturer: Glock
- Firing action: Recoil-operated; semi-automatic
- Caliber & Feed: 9x19mm parabellum, 10-, 17-, 19- and 33-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 165 ft.
- Year introduced: 1983
Glock 19
Source: sand86 / iStock via Getty Images
- Type: Semi-automatic service pistol
- Country of origin: Austria
- Manufacturer: Glock
- Firing action: Short-recoil / double-action
- Caliber & Feed: 9×19 parabellum, 15-round detachable box
- Maximum effective range: 165 ft.
- Year introduced: 1988
H-S Precision HTR
Source: zachievenor / Flickr
- Type: Sniper rifle
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: H-S Precision
- Firing action: Manually-operated bolt-action
- Caliber & Feed: .338 Lapua Magnum, .308 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum, 3-, 4- or 10-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 2625 ft.
- Year introduced: 2000
IMI B-300
Source: Natan Flayer / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Reusable anti-tank rocket system
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Israel Military Industries
- Firing action: Single-shot; disposable tube
- Caliber & Feed: 82mm, Single-shot
- Maximum effective range: 1312 ft.
- Year introduced: 1980
IMI MAPATS
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Man-portable anti-tank missile system
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Israel Military Industries
- Firing action: Laser-guided, tube-launched
- Caliber & Feed: 156mm, Single-shot, reusable launch tube
- Maximum effective range: 16400 ft.
- Year introduced: 1984
Ingram MAC-10 (M10)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Submachine gun
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Military Armament Corporation
- Firing action: Blowback-operation; full-automatic fire
- Caliber & Feed: 9×19 parabellum, .45ACP; .380 ACP, 30- or 32-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 164 ft.
- Year introduced: 1970
IWI Galil ACE
Source: IWI - Israel Weapon Industries / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Battle rifle
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Israel Military Industries
- Firing action: Gas-operated, rotating bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 7.62x51mm NATO, 25- or 35-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 1650 ft.
- Year introduced: 2008
IWI Galil ARM / SAR
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Designated marksman rifle
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Israel Military Industries
- Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm; 7.62×51,,, 25-, 35- or 50-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 1804 ft.
- Year introduced: 1973
IWI Galil MAR
Source: NatanFlayer / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Compact assault rifle
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Israel Military Industries
- Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 35-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 984 ft.
- Year introduced: 1995
IWI Galil Marksman Assault Rifle Mark 1
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Designated marksman rifle
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Israel Military Industries
- Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 20-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 1312 ft.
- Year introduced: 1996
IWI Galil Sniper (Galatz)
Source: Vitaly V. Kuzmin / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Semi-automatic sniper rifle
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Israel Military Industries
- Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 7.62x51mm NATO, 20-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 3280 ft.
- Year introduced: 1983
IWI Jericho 941
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Israel Military Industries
- Firing action: Short recoil; semi-automatic
- Caliber & Feed: 9x19mm parabellum; .40 S&W; .45 ACP, 9- or 13-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 197 ft.
- Year introduced: 1990
IWI Mini-UZI
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Submachine gun
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Israel Military Industries
- Firing action: Blowback operation
- Caliber & Feed: 9x19mm parabellum, 20-, 25- or 30-round box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 492 ft.
- Year introduced: 1980
IWI Negev
Source: MathKnight and Zachi Evenor / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Light machine gun
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Israel Military Industries
- Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt; selective-fire
- Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 35-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 3280 ft.
- Year introduced: 1997
IWI TAR-21 (Tavor)
Source: zachievenor / Flickr
- Type: Designated marksman rifle
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Israel Military Industries
- Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO; 9x19mm parabellum, 20- or 30-round detachable box
- Maximum effective range: 1805 ft.
- Year introduced: 2006
IWI UZI
Source: Uziel Galishto / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Submachine gun
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Israel Military Industries
- Firing action: Open-bolt; blowback
- Caliber & Feed: 9×19 parabellum; .45 ACP, 10-, 20-, 40- or 50-round box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 400 ft.
- Year introduced: 1950
IWI X95 (Micro-Tavor)
Source: TheStriker / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Compact bullpup assault rifle
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Israel Military Industries
- Firing action: Gas-operated, rotating bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 9×19 parabellum, 30- or 32-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 1247 ft.
- Year introduced: 2009
Kalashnikov AK-47
Source: Nemo5576 / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Assault rifle
- Country of origin: Soviet Union
- Manufacturer: Izhmash / Kalashnikov
- Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 7.62x39mm, 30-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 985 ft.
- Year introduced: 1949
Kalashnikov AKM
Source: UltraONEs / iStock via Getty Images
- Type: Assault rifle
- Country of origin: Soviet Union
- Manufacturer: Kalashnikov / State Factories
- Firing action: Gas-operated; automatic
- Caliber & Feed: 7.62x39mm M1943, 20- or 30-round detachable box
- Maximum effective range: 1640 ft.
- Year introduced: 1959
Kalashnikov PKM
Source: Vitaly V. Kuzmin / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: General purpose machine gun
- Country of origin: Soviet Union
- Manufacturer: Kalashnikov / State Factories
- Firing action: Gas-operated; open bolt
- Caliber & Feed: 7.62x54mmR Russian, 100-, 200- or 250-round belt
- Maximum effective range: 3280 ft.
- Year introduced: 1969
M14 Rifle
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Battle rifle
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Springfield Armory
- Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt, selective fire
- Caliber & Feed: 7.62x51mm NATO, 20-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 1509 ft.
- Year introduced: 1959
M2 Browning
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Heavy machine gun
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Saco Defense
- Firing action: Automatic short recoil-operated, air-cooled
- Caliber & Feed: 12.7x99mm NATO, 110-round metalic link belt
- Maximum effective range: 6550 ft.
- Year introduced: 1921
M47 Dragon
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Portable wire-guided anti-tank missile system
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Raytheon / McDonnell Douglas
- Firing action: Single-shot, line-of-sight, hollow charge
- Caliber & Feed: 140mm, Single-shot, single-use
- Maximum effective range: 246 ft.
- Year introduced: 1975
M72 LAW
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Disposable anti-tank rocket launcher
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Talley Industries
- Firing action: Single-shot; disposable tube
- Caliber & Feed: 66mm, Single shot disposable tube
- Maximum effective range: 1640 ft.
- Year introduced: 1963
M79
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Single-shot grenade launcher
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Various contractors
- Firing action: Single-shot, breech-loaded; reusable
- Caliber & Feed: 40x46mm, Single shot
- Maximum effective range: 1150 ft.
- Year introduced: 1961
McMillan TAC-50
Source: MathKnight / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Anti-material / sniper rifle
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: McMillan Tactical Products
- Firing action: Manually-operated bolt-action
- Caliber & Feed: 12.7x99mm NATO, 5-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 6561 ft.
- Year introduced: 2000
Mossberg Model 590
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Pump-action shotgun
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: O.S. Mossberg & Sons
- Firing action: Pump-action slide
- Caliber & Feed: 12-gauge, 6-, 8-, or 9-round tubular magazine
- Maximum effective range: 130 ft.
- Year introduced: 1975
Rafael SPIKE
Source: Dave1185 / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Shoulder-fired, anti-tank, guided missile launcher
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
- Firing action: Automatic self-guidance; reusable launcher
- Caliber & Feed: 170mm, Single shot
- Maximum effective range: 10000 ft.
- Year introduced: 1997
Remington M24 SWS
Source: zachievenor / Flickr
- Type: Bolt-action sniper rifle
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Remington Arms
- Firing action: Manually-operated bolt-action
- Caliber & Feed: 7.62x51mm NATO; .338 Lapua Magnum, 5-round internal magazine / 5- or 10-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 2624 ft.
- Year introduced: 1987
Remington M870
Source: Burnyburnout / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Pump-action shotgun
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Remington Arms
- Firing action: Pump-action repeating
- Caliber & Feed: 12-, 16-, 20- or 28-gauge, 4- or 7-round tubular magazine
- Maximum effective range: 120 ft.
- Year introduced: 1950
Remington MSR
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Bolt-action sniper rifle
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Remington Arms
- Firing action: Manually-actuated bolt-action system
- Caliber & Feed: .338 Lapua Magnum, .338 Norma Magnum, 7.62x51mm NATO, 5-, 7- or 10-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 4920 ft.
- Year introduced: 2013
Saab Bofors AT4-CS Light Anti-Armor Weapon
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Man-portable disposable anti-armor system
- Country of origin: Sweden
- Manufacturer: Saab Bofors Dynamics
- Firing action: Expendable self-contained rocket launcher
- Caliber & Feed: 84mm, Single shot
- Maximum effective range: 984 ft.
- Year introduced: 1985
Saco Mk 19
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: 40mm automatic grenade launcher
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Saco Defense Industries
- Firing action: Self-powered, air-cooled, belt-fed, blowback-operated
- Caliber & Feed: 40x53mm, Belt-fed
- Maximum effective range: 4500 ft.
- Year introduced: 1967
Stoner SR-25
Source: zachievenor / Flickr
- Type: Designated marksman rifle
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Knights Armament
- Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt; semi-automatic
- Caliber & Feed: 7.62x51mm NATO, 10- or 20-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 2625 ft.
- Year introduced: 1990
TCI M89SR
Source: archer10 / Flickr
- Type: Designated marksman rifle
- Country of origin: Israel
- Manufacturer: Technical Consultants International
- Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt; semi-automatic
- Caliber & Feed: 7.62x51mm NATO, 10- or 20-round detachable box magazine
- Maximum effective range: 3280 ft.
- Year introduced: 1988
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