Military equipment of Israel

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The Military equipment of Israel includes a wide array of arms, tanks, planes, cannons, armored vehicles. Many of these are purchased overseas, primarily from the United States. In the past, the Israel Defense Forces' principal supplier was France. Much of the military equipment undergoes improvements in Israeli workshops.

Uziel Gal's Uzi submachine gun, the most recognizable IMI-manufactured weapon

History

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the military equipment in the IDF was very diverse and inconsistent. This was due to the severe limitation in obtaining war materiel (the British Mandate and the Arab Embargo). During the 1950’s, the IDF began the process of standardization, relying primarily on French military equipment.

During the Six Day War, the military cooperation with France ceased (the French Weapons Embargo of 1967) and Israel began to rely on American weaponry and on local research and developments. During the 1980s and 90s, the IDF increased its supplies of American arms, armor, and aircraft, aiming for technological superiority over Arab countries, toward "a smaller, smarter army."

The reliance on locally manufactured military equipment has also greatly increased. Today, the overwhelming majority of Israel's military equipment is either manufactured in the United States (and often modified in Israeli workshops), or is developed and manufactured locally, with an increasing emphasis on advanced technology, including aerospace and electronics.

Local military development

• The Uzi submachine gun
• The Desert Eagle pistol
• The IMI Galil assault rifle
• The Tavor assault rifle
• The IMI Negev machine gun
• The Merkava tank
• The Magach tank
• The IDF Achzarit APC/AFV
• The Caterpillar D9 ("Dubi") tractor
• The Python missile
• The Tactical High Energy Laser
• The Arrow missile
• The Shavit rocket
• The Ofeq reconnaissance satellite
• The Jericho medium-range ballistic missile

Active service light arms in 2006

Bellow are some of the IDF's main active service light arms (less than 20 mm), the year of active service and effective range are in parentheses.

Assault rifles

• M16 (1973; 500 meters)
• CAR-15 (1973; less than 400 meters)
• Galil (1974; 400 meters)
• M4 Carbine (1994; 350 meters)
• Tavor TAR-21 (2004; 200 meters)

Submachine guns

• Uzi submachine gun (1953; 50 meters) ^{[Training/reserve forces only]}
• Micro Uzi (1990; 50 meters)

Machine guns

• Browning Model 1919 machine gun (1940s; 1,300 meters)
• M2 Machine Gun (1948; 2,000 meters)
• FN MAG (1968; 1,200 meters)
• Negev (1997; 1,000 meters)

Sniper rifles

• M82 (1997; 1,800 meters)
• M24 SWS (1997; 800 meters)
• SR-25 (2001; 500 meters)
• Ruger 10/22 Suppressed (1987; 100 meters)

Shotguns

• Remington 870 (1950; 60 meters)
• Mossberg 695 (1996?; 130 meters)

Pistols

• GLOCK 17 (1997; 50 meters)
• GLOCK 19 (1997; 50 meters)

Active service tanks in 2006

Bellow are the four active service tanks (all have a crew of four). Maximum cruise speed and weapons are in parenthesis (armor detail remains largely classified). These are all Merkava variants. The last tanks to have been retired from active service were the Magach 6 and 7 in 2004.

Merkava variants

• Merkava Mk2 (50 km/h; 105 mm cannon, mortar, and three machine guns)
• Merkava Mk3 (55 km/h; 120 mm cannon, mortar, and three machine guns)
• Merkava Mk3B (55 km/h; 120 mm cannon, mortar, and three machine guns)
• Merkava Mk4 (65 km/h; 120 mm cannon, mortar, and three machine guns)

Active service aircraft in 2006

Fighter aircraft

• A-4 Skyhawk (1967; 1,170 km/h; 3,540 km; two 30mm cannons, missiles, and bombs)
• F-15 Eagle (1976; Mach 2.5; 3,450 km; one 20mm cannon, missiles, and bombs)
• F-16 Falcon (1980; over Mach 2; 3,200 km; one 20mm cannon, missiles, and bombs)
• F15I (1998; Mach 2.5; 4,450 km; one 20mm cannon, missiles, and bombs)
• F-16I (2004; over Mach 2; 4,200 km; one 20mm cannon, missiles, and bombs)

Transport planes

• C-130 Hercules (1971; 620 km/h; 7,880 km; 92 passengers)
• Boeing 707 (1973; 1,000 km/h; 9,900 km; 190 passengers)

Attack helicopters

• AH-1 Cobra (1976; 230 km/h; 510 km; one 20mm cannnon; eight TOW missiles, rockets)
• AH-64 Apache (1990; 365 km/h; 690 km; one 30mm cannon; sixteen hellfire missiles)
• AH-64D Apache (2005; 365 km/h; 690 km; one 30mm cannon; sixteen hellfire-II missiles)

Transport helicopters

• CH-53 Sea Stallion (1969; 315 km/h, 1,640 km; 55 passengers)
• Bell 206 (1971; 205 km/h; 580 km; 5 passengers)
• Bell 212 (1975; 250 km/h; 420 km; 14 passengers)
• UH-60 Black Hawk (1994; 360 km/h; 1,630 km; 22 passengers)

Active service watercraft in 2006

Bellow are the IDF's active service watercrafts. The year of service, speed, full load displacement, and crew members, are in parenthesis.

Missile boats

• Saar 4 (1970s; 32 kt; 450 tons; 45 crew members)
• Saar 4.5 (1980s; 31 kt; 488 tons; 53 crew members)
• Saar 5 (1990s; 33 kt; 1,227 tons; 64 crew members)

Patrol boats

• Dabur (1970s; 19 kt; 39 tons; 9 crew members)
• Dvorah (1988; 36 kt; 47 tons 10 crew members)
• Shaldag (1989; ?; 50 kt; ?)
• Super Dvorah Mk2 (1996; 46 kt; 54 tons; 10 crew members)
• Nachshol (1997; 40 kt; 12 tons; 5 crew members)
• Super Dvorah Mk3 (2004; 47 kt; 54 tons; 10 crew members)

Submarines

• Gal (early 1970s; 17 kt underwater, 11 kt surface; 600 tons underwater, 420 tons surface; 32 crew members) ^{[It is being decommissioned]}
• Dolphin (1992; 20 kt underwater, 11 kt surface; 1,900 tons underwater, 1,640 tons surface; 30 crew members)