List of equipment of the Israel Defense Forces

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Current equipment and weapons of the Israel Defense Forces, 2021

The military equipment of Israel includes a wide array of arms, armored vehicles, artillery, missiles, planes, helicopters, and warships. Many of these are purchased overseas and many are indigenous designs. Until the Six-Day War of 1967, the Israel Defense Forces' principal supplier was France; since then, it has been the United States government and defense companies in the United States. In the early 21st century, Israeli companies (such as Soltam Systems) began selling arms to the United States.[1] Much military equipment undergoes improvements in Israeli workshops.

In addition to weapons purchased overseas and indigenous products, Israel also operates and maintains large stockpiles of Soviet-made equipment, captured from Arab armies over the course of the Arab–Israeli conflict.[2]

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 1950s, 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 development. During the 1980s and 1990s, 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

Some of the military equipment developed locally have been:

Ground forces equipment

Small arms

Name Image Type Caliber Origin Notes
Pistols
Jericho 941[4] Semi-automatic pistol 9×19mm  Israel Used by IDF and IDF Special Forces
Glock 17[5] Semi-automatic pistol 9×19mm  Austria Used by IDF Special Forces
Glock 19[6] Semi-automatic pistol 9×19mm  Austria Used by IDF Special Forces
Browning Hi-Power[6] Semi-automatic pistol 9×19mm  Belgium
SIG Sauer P226[6] Semi-automatic pistol 9×19mm Parabellum   Switzerland Used by IDF Special Forces.
Beretta M1951[4] Semi-automatic pistol 9×19mm  Italy
Heckler & Koch P11[4] Underwater pistol 7.62×36mm  Germany
Submachine guns
IMI Uzi[7] Submachine gun 9×19mm  Israel Uzi, Mini-Uzi, Micro-Uzi, and Uzi-Pro used.
Ingram MAC-10[4] Submachine gun 9×19mm  United States
IWI X95[4] Submachine gun and bullpup assault rifle 9×19mm variant  Israel 9x19mm suppressed variant used by IDF Special Forces
Semi-automatic rifle
Suppressed Ruger 10/22[6][8]
Semi-automatic rifle .22 LR  United States Adopted for non-lethal crowd control.
Assault rifles
Tavor X95 (Micro-Tavor Dor Gimel) Bullpup assault rifle/Carbine/Service rifle 5.56x45mm  Israel Improved version of the X95 with longer barrel.
IWI X95 (Micro-Tavor)[4] Bullpup Assault rifle/Carbine 5.56x45mm  Israel Compact version of the TAR-21. Standard Issue rifle since 2009 replacing the TAR-21.
IWI Tavor TAR-21[4] Assault rifle 5.56×45mm  Israel Cut from service as of 2009 and replaced by the X95.
M4A1 Carbine[4] Carbine/Assault rifle/Service rifle 5.56×45mm  United States Standard Issue Assault Rifle along with M16, CAR-15, and X95 and used by Special Forces
M16A1[9] Assault rifle 5.56×45mm  United States Standard Issue Assault Rifle along with the M4, CAR-15, M16A2 and X95. Most of the long-barreled rifles were modified to have short barrel and a telescoping stock, the rest are reserved for basic training and ceremonial issues
M16A2 Assault rifle 5.56×45mm  United States Standard Issue Assault Rifle along with the M4, CAR-15, M16A1 and X95. Most of the M16A2 is firing automatic, some to custom for DMR and rest are ceremonial issues.
CAR-15[6] Assault rifle 5.56×45mm  United States Standard Issue Assault Rifle along with M4, M16A1, and X95
IMI Galil[4][7] Assault rifle 5.56×45mm  Israel Used in limited numbers. Variants used are Galil AR and Galil SAR. Most Galil's have been replaced by the improved (Galil) IWI ACE.
IMI Micro Galil Assault rifle 5.56×45mm  Israel Used in limited numbers. Highly compact version of the Galil. Most Galil's have been replaced by the improved (Galil) IWI ACE.
AKM[4][7][10] Assault rifle 7.62×39mm  Soviet Union Captured from Arab armies over the course of the Arab–Israeli conflict and was used by Special Forces due to their high reliability.
AK-47[4][7][10] Assault rifle 7.62×39mm  Soviet Union Captured from Arab armies over the course of the Arab–Israeli conflict and was used by Special Forces due to their high reliability.
Battle rifles
M14[4] Battle rifle 7.62×51mm  United States Used in limited numbers by the IDF.
Light machine gun
IMI Negev[4] Light machine gun 5.56×45mm  Israel Capable of firing semi-automatic or full-auto. The 5.56 variant features a unique dual feed system, it can accept 30 round STANAG magazines and an assault-box belt.
Medium machine gun
M1919 Browning Medium machine gun .30-06 Springfield  United States
General-purpose machine guns
FN MAG[11] General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51mm  Belgium Former Standard Issue to IDF Since 1960s to 1990s as a Main Machine Gun.
Negev NG7 General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51mm  Israel Capable of semi-automatic or full-automatic fire.
PKM[6] General-purpose machine gun 7.62×54mmR  Soviet Union Captured from Arab armies over the course of the Arab–Israeli conflict and used by Special Forces.
M60 General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51mm NATO  United States Limited use.
Heavy machine guns
Browning M2 (Makach 0.5)[4] Heavy machine gun 12.7×99mm  United States Upgraded to M2HB-QCB
Shotguns
Armsel Striker Revolving riot shotgun 12 Gauge  South Africa Used for riot control
Designated marksman rifles
M4A1 Kala Sa'ar Designated marksman rifle 5.56×45mm  United States Accurized M4A1, used by "kala sa'ar" marksmen.
SR-25 Mk 11 [6] Designated marksman rifle/Sniper rifle 7.62×51mm  United States Used by IDF Special Forces. Also employed as a sniper rifle.
Tavor X-95L "Micro-Tavor Kala'im" Designated marksman rifle 5.56×45mm  Israel Accurized Micro-Tavor X95 with longer barrel, used by "kala sa'ar" marksmen.
Sniper rifles
M24 SWS[6] Sniper rifle 7.62×51mm  United States Standard-issued sniper rifle, achieves accuracy of 0.5 MOA with IMI ammo.
IDF Modernized M24 SWS[6] Sniper rifle 7.62×51mm  United States Standard-issued sniper rifle, achieves accuracy of 0.5 MOA with IMI ammo.
Mauser 86SR[6] Sniper rifle 7.62×51mm  Germany Used for counter-terrorism operations.
Barak (HTR 2000) Long-range sniper rifle .338 Lapua Magnum  United States An IDF modified H-S Precision Pro Series 2000 HTR rifle
Barrett M82A1 Anti-materiel rifle 12.7×99mm  United States Used mainly by the Combat Engineering Corps and IDF Special Forces
McMillan TAC-50 Long range sniper rifle/Anti-materiel rifle 12.7×99mm  United States Used by IDF Special Forces.
Barrett MRAD Multi-role sniper rifle (field sniping / counter-terrorism / long-range) 7.62×51mm
.338 Lapua Magnum
 United States Used by Special Forces and also by Israeli Police elite CT unit YAMAM. Achieves accuracy of 0.35-0.5 MOA (1.1 cm groups in 100 m).
Barrett REC10 Semi-automatic sniper rifle (counter-terrorism) 7.62×51mm  United States Use by the IDF special forces and also by Israeli Police. Achieves accuracy of around 0.75 MOA.
IWI Dan Long-range sniper rifle .338 Lapua Magnum  Israel
Hand grenades
M26A2 Fragmentation grenade n/a  Israel Based on the American M26 grenade
IDF M48 Stun grenade n/a  Israel Based on the American M84 stun grenade

Rocket and grenade launchers

Name Image Type Caliber Origin Notes
B-300 Shipon Shoulder-launched rocket 96 mm  Israel
M72 LAW Shoulder-launched rocket 66 mm  United States
MATADOR Shoulder-launched rocket 90 mm  Israel
 Singapore
M203[4] Under-barrel grenade launcher 40 mm  United States Usually mounted under an M16, M4, CAR-15, or X95. Mounted on X95's with longer barrels and large trigger guard instead of the standard pistol grip guard.
Mk 19[4] Automatic grenade launcher 40 mm  United States
Mk 47 Striker Automatic grenade launcher 40 mm  United States

Missiles

Name Image Type Origin Notes
Spike Anti-tank missile  Israel Used various models of the family, including Gil (Spike-MR) and Gil 2 (Spike-LR II), Spike-ER (I and II) and Tamouz (Spike NLOS).
BGM-71 TOW Anti-tank missile  United States
LAHAT Anti-tank missile  Israel
MAPATS Anti-tank missile  Israel
Nimrod Long-range anti-tank missile  Israel

Vehicles

Name Image Type Number Origin Notes
Main battle tanks (490)
Merkava Mark 4M Main battle tank ~330  Israel ~220 stored.[12]
Merkava Mark IV Main battle tank  Israel
Merkava Mark 3 Main battle tank ~160  Israel ~660 stored.[12]
Armoured personnel carriers (1,360)
M113 Armored personnel carrier 500 active[13]
5,000 in storage[13]
 United States
 Israel
Was used until the Battle of Shuja'iyya incident
IDF Achzarit Heavy armored personnel carrier 215  Israel Based on the T-54 tank
Nagmachon Heavy armored personnel carrier N/A  United Kingdom
 Israel
Based on the Centurion tank
Nakpadon Heavy armored personnel carrier N/A  United Kingdom
 Israel
Based on the Centurion tank
Nakpuma Heavy combat engineering/Armored personnel carrier N/A  United Kingdom
 Israel
Based on the Centurion tank
Namer Heavy armored personnel carrier 120  Israel 531 planned to be in service by 2027. Based on the Merkava chassis.
Eitan Armored fighting vehicle/Armored personnel carrier N/A  Israel Equipped with Iron Fist APS
Utility vehicles
Wolf Armored vehicle 300  Israel
AIL Storm Utility vehicle 700  Israel
HMMWV Utility vehicle 2,000+  United States
MDT David Utility vehicle 400  United Kingdom
 Israel
Based on the Land Rover Defender
Plasan Sand Cat Utility vehicle 79  Israel
Otokar Akrep Armored vehicle 30  Turkey [14]
Trucks
AIL Abir 4×4 truck N/A  Israel
M35 8×12 truck N/A  United States
Unimog 437 Heavy truck N/A  Germany
HEMTT 8×8 heavy truck N/A  United States
Engineering vehicles
Puma Heavy combat engineering vehicle N/A  United Kingdom
 Israel
Based on the Centurion tank
Namer CEV Heavy combat engineering vehicle N/A  Israel Based on the Merkava tank
IDF Caterpillar D9 Combat armored bulldozer 175+  United States
 Israel
Bulldozer manufactured by Caterpillar Inc., military conversion and armor by Israel.
IDF Caterpillar Excavators 330 and 349E Armored tracked excavator N/A  United States
 Israel
Excavators manufactured by Caterpillar Inc., military conversion and armor by Israel.
IDF Caterpillar 966 Wheeled Loader Armored wheeled loader N/A  United States
 Israel
Loaders manufactured by Caterpillar Inc., military conversion and armor by Israel.
M548 Alfa Cargo and ammunition carrier N/A  United States
 Israel
Based on the M113
M60 AVLB Armored bridge layer 10  United States
Nemmera Armored recovery vehicle N/A  Israel Based on the Merkava
M88 Armored recovery vehicle 25  United States
Nagmapop Command and surveillance vehicle N/A  United Kingdom
 Israel
Based on the Centurion tank
AIL Desert Raider Dune buggy N/A  Israel
VIPeR Unmanned ground vehicle N/A  Israel
Guardium Unmanned ground vehicle N/A  Israel
Dawn Thunder/Black Thunder Unmanned armored bulldozer N/A  United States
 Israel
Based on the IDF Caterpillar D9N[15]
IDF D9T Panda Unmanned armored bulldozer N/A  United States
 Israel
Based on the IDF Caterpillar D9

Artillery

Name Image Type Number in service[16] Origin Notes
M109 Doher 155mm self-propelled howitzer 600  United States
 Israel
Upgraded as the M109 Doher. Based on the M109A5. Replacement program initiated,[17] candidates include ATMOS 2000 and the Artillery Gun Module.[18] Used in limited numbers
Soltam M-71 155mm towed howitzer 300  Israel
Soltam M-68 155mm self-propelled howitzer 50  Israel In reserve
M270 "Menatetz" Multiple rocket launcher 48  United States
 Israel
Armed with several types of Israeli rockets: RAMAM, Ra'am Eithan (Strong Thunder) and Romach ("Lance", a guided rocket).
Cardom SP 120 mm self-propelled mortar 64  Israel
Soltam M-65 120 mm mortar 250  Israel
M113 Tamuz Missile launching vehicle N/A  Israel Spike missiles launched from an M113 chassis[19]
LAR-160 160 mm artillery rocket  Israel
Romach M270 MLRS Menatetz GPS-guided artillery rocket  Israel
Extended Range Artillery Rocket (EXTRA) Long-range artillery rocket  Israel 150 km range[20]
LORA Theater quasiballistic missile  Israel

Air defense

Name Image Type Number in service[16] Origin Notes
MIM-104 Patriot
Surface-to-air missile N/A  United States was upgraded to the GM+ "Yahalom" standard
Iron Dome Air defense missile battery/Anti-rockets missile 9+  Israel Intercepted hundreds of artillery records since declared operational in 2011.
David's Sling
Medium- to long-range anti-ballistic missile/surface-to-air missile N/A  Israel Medium- to long-range anti-ballistic missile with surface-to-air missile capability
Arrow
Anti-ballistic missile N/A  Israel Out of the atmosphere anti-ballistic missile missile series

Air forces equipment

Note there are multiple sources and these provide different figures:
Aircraft Origin Type Versions
In Service
By INSS By FlightGlobal By IISS
Fighter aircraft
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II  United States Stealth multirole fighter F-35I "Adir" 9 75[21] 75[22]
Boeing F-15 Eagle  United States Air superiority fighter F-15A "Baz" 52[23] 42[24] 16[25]
F-15C "Baz" 17[25]
F-15B "Baz" 16[24] 6[25]
F-15D "Baz" 11[25]
Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle  United States Strike fighter F-15I "Ra'am" 25[23] 25[24] 25[25]
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon  United States Multirole fighter F-16A "Netz" 107[23] 63[24][26] 77[25]
F-16B "Netz" 16[25]
F-16C "Barak" 136[23] 77[24][26] 78[25]
F-16D "Barak" 49[24][26] 49[25]
F-16I "Sufa" 100[23] 99[24] 99[25]
Trainer aircraft
Grob G-120  Germany Trainer aircraft G-120AI "Snunit" 27[23] 16[21] 17[25]
Beechcraft T-6 Texan II  United States Trainer aircraft T-6A "Efroni" 19[23] 20[24] 20[25]
Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master  Italy Transonic jet trainer M-346 "Lavi" 30[21]
Transport/Aerial refueling/Aerial firefighting/Utility/Signals intelligence/Maritime patrol/Airborne early warning (AEW)
Air Tractor AT-802  United States Aerial firefighting AT-802F 8[23] 7[24] 3[25]
Beechcraft Bonanza  United States Utility A-36 "Khofit" 22[23] 22[25]
Beechcraft Super King Air (C-12 Huron)  United States Utility/Transport/Trainer B-200/T/CT "Tzofit" 29[23] 22[21] 22[25]
EW / ELINT / SIGINT RC-12D/K "Kookiya" 6[25]
IAI SeaScan  Israel Maritime patrol 1124N "Shahaf" 3[23] 3[24] 3[25]
Gulfstream G550  United States SEMA G500 "Nahshon-Shavit" 3[23] 3[24] 3[25]
CAEW G550 "Nahshon-Eitam" 2[23] 2[24] 2[25]
Lockheed C-130 Hercules  United States Tactical transport C-130E "Qarnaf" 12[23] 3[21] 5[25]
C-130H "Qarnaf" 6[25]
Aerial refueling KC-130H "Qarnaf" 3[23] 7[21] 4[25]
Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules  United States Tactical transport C-130J "Shimshon" - 7[21] -
Boeing 707  United States Heavy transport/EW 707 "Re'em" 8[23] 7[21] 3[25]
Aerial refueling KC-707 "Saknai" 5[23] 8[21] 7[25]
Helicopters
Eurocopter Panther  France Maritime patrol AS-565SA "Atalef" 5[23] 4[21] 7[25]
Boeing AH-64 Apache  United States Attack helicopter AH-64A "Peten" 30[23] 26[27] 27[25]
AH-64D "Saraph" 17[23] 22[27] 17[25]
Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion  United States Heavy transport CH-53 "Yas'ur 2000" 37[23] 18[28] 26[25]
CH-53 "Yas'ur 2025" 5[28]
Sikorsky S-70 (UH-60 Black Hawk)  United States Tactical transport S-70A / UH-60A/L "Yanshuf" 49[23] 50[21] 49[25]
Bell 206 (OH-58 Kiowa)  United States Light transport/Trainer 206B "Saifan" 18[21] 6[25]

Unmanned aerial vehicles

Weaponry

Naval forces equipment

Below are the IDF's active service watercraft. The year of service, speed, full load displacement, and crew members, are in parentheses.

Missile boats

Corvettes


Patrol boats

  • Israel Dabur (1970s; 19 kn (35 km/h); 39 tons; 9 crew members)
  • Israel Shaldag (1989; ?; 50 kn (93 km/h); 15 crew members)
  • Israel Super Dvora Mk II (1996; 46 kn (85 km/h); 54 tons; 10 crew members)
  • South Africa Nachshol (1997; 40 kn (74 km/h); 12 tons; 5 crew members)
  • Israel Super Dvora Mk III (2004; 47 kn (87 km/h); 54 tons; 10 crew members)

Support ships

Unmanned naval vehicles

Submarines

  • Israel/Germany Dolphin I (1992; 11 kn (20 km/h), 20 kn (37 km/h) underwater; 1,640 tons, 1,900 tons underwater; 30 crew members)
  • Israel/Germany Dolphin II (2014; 13 kn (24 km/h), 25 kn (46 km/h) underwater; 2,050 tons, 2,400 tons underwater; 40 crew members)

Commando boats

  • Israel Dolphin type underwater craft
  • Israel Maiale type underwater craft
  • Israel Snunit boat
  • Israel Zaharon boat
  • Israel Moulit boat
  • Israel Morena rigid-hull inflatable boat

Remote weapon systems

Space systems

See also

References

  1. ^ "US Army Wants 120mm Guided Mortars for the Front Lines (APMI)". Archived from the original on 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
  2. ^ Matthew M. Aid (10 September 2013). "Exclusive: Does Israel Have Chemical Weapons Too?". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017. Its sensitivities were galvanized by the capture of large quantities of Soviet CW-related equipment during both the 1967 Arab-Israeli and the 1973 Yom Kippur wars.
  3. ^ "Israeli "Pereh" tank officially revealed. – Tank and AFV News". 17 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-07-21. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Jones, Richard (2009). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009–2010. Jane's Information Group. pp. 36, 380, 897. ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  5. ^ Valpolini, Paolo (June 2009). "There are Two Types of Men in this World..." (PDF). Armada International (Online). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Israeli Special Forces Weapons Guide". Retrieved 2010-10-13.
  7. ^ a b c d Katz, Sam (1986). Israeli Defence Forces since 1973. Osprey Publishing. pp. 22, 56, 49. ISBN 0-85045-687-8.
  8. ^ "Ruger 10/22 Suppressed Sniper Rifle Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine" at ruger1022.com
  9. ^ John Pike (2003-12-17). "Israel's army phases out country's iconic Uzi submachine gun". Globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 2009-03-12. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  10. ^ a b Sweeney, Patrick (2005). The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15. Gun Digest Books. p. 131. ISBN 0-87349-947-6.
  11. ^ Katz, Sam (1988). Israeli Elite Units since 1948. Osprey Publishing. p. 55. ISBN 0-85045-837-4.
  12. ^ a b "Chapter Seven: Middle East and North Africa". The Military Balance. 121 (1): 314–377. 2021-01-01. doi:10.1080/04597222.2021.1868796. ISSN 0459-7222.
  13. ^ a b IISS 2020, p. 356.
  14. ^ "Israel" (PDF), Studies, The Institute for National Security, November 20, 2014, archived from the original (PDF) on November 24, 2015.
  15. ^ Page, Lewis (31 March 2009). "Israelis' invulnerable, 60-tonne robot bulldozer force to double". The Register. Archived from the original on 20 April 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  16. ^ a b "The Institute for National Security Studies", chapter Israel, 2010, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-04-30. Retrieved 2015-08-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) September 20, 2010.
  17. ^ BARBARA OPALL-ROME. "Gun Makers Gear Up for $1B Israeli Contest" DefenseNews, October 19, 2013. Accessed: 20 October 2013.
  18. ^ Israel Army wants to replace old 155 mm howitzer M109 with Soltam or AGM artillery system Archived 2015-07-26 at the Wayback Machine – Armyrecognition.com, 30 October 2013
  19. ^ "IDF unveils special guided missile used in Lebanon, Gaza -". Archived from the original on 2011-08-02. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  20. ^ "The Jewish Press » » IDF Acquires New Long-Range Rocket from IMI". Archived from the original on 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hoyle, Craig (2023). "World Air Forces 2024". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Three more F-35 fighter jets touch down in Israel". The times of israel. Archived from the original on 2017-05-28. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "Israel" (PDF), Studies, The Institute for National Security, May 8, 2012, archived from the original (PDF) on September 7, 2012.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "World Air Forces 2014". Flight International. Flight global. December 5, 2013. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad The Military Balance 2014, International Institute for Strategic Studies, February 5, 2014, p. 326.
  26. ^ a b c "MiliCAS". Flight International (database). Flight global. July 27, 2012. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2012. Shows the Israeli air force has an active fleet of 325 F-16s, including 126 General Electric F110-100-powered C/D examples.
  27. ^ a b "Israeli Apache upgrade adds avionics pod". October 8, 2013. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  28. ^ a b "Israel acquires surplus CH-53 helicopters for spares". January 25, 2013. Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.

Sources