See the Top 6 Newest Guns Israel Will Use if Conflict Breaks Out

Every day the news makes it seem more possible that a conflict will break out in the Middle East that involves our ally Israel. Whether the threat comes from Hezbollah to the north, Hamas to the south, or Iran from the east, there are many scenarios that could lead to an outbreak of hostilities this year.

Of course, Israel's storied military-- the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)-- comprises the most potent fighting force in the region, which is sure to make most enemies think twice. A large part of that combat prowess is due to world class training and discipline, but the Israelis also have some of the best war fighting gear outside of the U.S.

So we at the Blaze put together a primer on the latest and greatest in Israeli guns.

They are made by Israel Weapons Industries, formerly known as Israel Military Industries, which considers itself one of the world's leaders in combat-tested small arms. IWI touts its cutting edge family of rifles and pistols, which include, as it states:

 "The innovative TAVOR family of Assault Rifles, the ultimate two caliber X95 (Assault Rifle & SMG), the reliable NEGEV Light Machine Gun family, the well-known GALIL Assault Rifle family... the legendary UZI SMG (Mini, Micro and Uzi Pro) and the acclaimed JERICHO family of pistols."

There are too many to list each individual model here (for those of you who really want a deep dive, the IWI site is an excellent resource) but we have picked out the latest and greatest of the IWI small arms arsenal. Enjoy.

1) The Negev Machine Gun

The NEGEV is a light and technologically advanced machine gun that is very reliable under adverse and extreme conditions such as mud, dirt and snow. Its current variants are the Negev, Negev SF, and Negev 7 (NG-7).

This family of rifles has seen action all over the world. The Negev takes either 5.56mm or 7.62mm ammunition with an open bolt LMG that can be fed by a belt, drum or magazine. Among its most useful features is the semi-automatic safety which makes the Negev a safer weapon in close quarters battle.

The folks over at the Firearm blog pulled out this video clip  to give you a fuller sense of the brand new Negev 7 (NG-7's) capabilities in action, courtesy of YouTube:

2) Galil Sniper and Assault Rifles

The Galil family of rifles consists of multipurpose personal weapons for infantry use. The basic Galil is light weight, air cooled, gas-operated and magazine-fed.

The Galil was first developed over 30 years ago and has been in use ever since. Today the micro Galil has become a popular variant for Israeli police and law enforcement agencies around the globe.

3) Tavor Assault Rifles

There are a whole series of weapons in the Tavor family of bullpup rifles, including the TAR, CTAR, STAR, and GTAR variants.

The Tavor serves as the IDF's main service weapon, and was developed in close cooperation with the IDF. Among its biggest selling points are high reliability and accuracy under extreme and adverse weather conditions.

The Tavor family are compact rifles with a long barrel and are completely ambidextrous. State-of-the-art sighting systems can be affixed directly to the barrel.

4) The X-95 Family

The X-95 family of  bull pup assault rifles was designed for Israel's special operation units. Like the Tavor, it also boasts high reliability and accuracy under extreme conditions as well as increased hit probability during exertion.

The X-95 has a 30 round capacity, can be equipped with a silencer, has a detachable barrel, and with the aid of a conversion kit, can be turned into a 9mm caliber submachine gun.

Here is a video that shows the durability of the X-95, courtesy of YouTube:

5) UZI SMG

You can't talk about Israeli weapons without mentioning the world famous Uzi. The first one was created in 1950, and it has since been exported to over 70 countries and has been more widely used than any submachine gun (SMG) in history.

Since those early days, the Uzi family of weapons has expanded dramatically. It has been modified and optimized to meet a variety of personal defense and specialized assault needs, depending on the mission set.

Today,  the Mini and Micro UZI versions are very popular weapons, developed for special military units and police entities such as anti-terror teams.