IMI Galil

During the six-day war of 1967, the Israeli Defense Forces gained valuable lessons in desert warfare and the need to develop weapons to adapt to the harsh environment. The IMI Galil was a direct consequence of these lessons. The FN FAL battle rifles used by the IDF proved to be wholly inadequate in the sandy environs of the desert and the idea was conceived to develop an assault rifle on the lines of the Kalashnikov AK-47 and the American M-16 and one that would be easier to manufacture. The aim was to domestically produce the battle rifle using standard NATO 5.56x 45 mm ammunition. The IDF began testing various designs during the late 60s, mainly the two designs of Uziel Gal and Yisrael Galili. And as the name of the rifle suggests, the design of Yisrael Galil, was selected. This design was itself based on the Finnish Valmet Rk. 62 assault rifle (a licensed variant of the AK-47). The initial production by Israeli Military Industries (IMI) commenced after machinery and technical documents were imported from Valmet. Though the rifle was ready by 1973, it was not formally inducted into the IDF until 1974 due to the Yom Kippur war of '73.

Though the IMI Galil is a hugely successful weapon in its own right, it did not fulfill the purpose for which it was initially conceptualized i.e. to become the main battlefield rifle for the IDF. This was due to various reasons, the chief among them being the fact that low priced American built M-16s and CAR-15 rifle were imported in large numbers during the late 60s and early 70s. Another problem with it was is weight, which is substantially more than its competitor, the M-16. It was popular with the infantry though, due to its short length and collapsible stock. The Galil has been mostly issued to Armoured corps where its shorter length is an asset, to the Artillery corps and to units of the Israeli Air Force. The infantry used it until the Lebanon war of 1982 and then it began to lose favor with them.

The success of the IMI Galil can be gauged from the fact that several countries have imported them in large numbers. Especially South Africa, many African, South American and Asian countries use them and find them extremely adaptable to the conditions prevalent there. The IMI Galil's success has also resulted in several variants of the rifle being developed. The standard Galil AR and ARM, the compact SAR for Armoured crews, the MAR or Micro Galil using 5.56 x 45 mm NATO ammunition and 7.62 mm NATO AR and SNR sniper rifle are the principal configurations.Today, the only licensed producer of the rifle is Indumil (Columbia's National Military Industry).

The Galil features two safety selector switches on either side of the rifle and a cocking handle, which is bent upward. Both of these are designed so that they can be operated with either hand. It has tritium illuminated night sights and a flip up type rear sight with settings for 300 and 500 meters. The Galil can also be used to launch rifle grenades using blank or live cartridges. The buttstock is foldable making it easierto carry. The more unusual features on the rifle are a bipod that doubles as a wire cutter and an inbuilt soda bottle opener.