Israeli Tavor Rifle Showcased in Thailand

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Soldiers of the Royal Thai King’s Guard were spotted carrying Israeli Tavor assault rifles during the coronation ceremonies of the new King of Thailand..

The Tavor TAR-21s produced by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), which were spray-painted gold, were seen at the ceremony in Thailand’s capital of Bangkok by a Twitter user, who said that they were painted in the “old tradition of the Royal Police,”  according to jpost.com.

Thailand purchased TAR-21 bullpup assault rifles to replace its M16-A1 assault rifles as the standard issue rifle of the Thai Royal Army and, according to local Thai reports, has around 76,000 TAR-21 rifles in use.

Designed to be more reliable, durable and better suited to close-combat scenarios, the Tavor assault rifle fires 5.56 x 45 millimeter rounds, though it can also shoot 9-millimeter ammunition, at a rate of between 750-950 rounds per minute.

According to iwi.net, the TAVOR was developed in close cooperation with Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was rigorously tested by the IDF on all terrains and performed flawlessly. Today all IDF Infantry Units and IDF Special Forces use the TAVOR as their primary assault rifle. The TAVOR line of Assault Rifles also been chosen by government bodies as well as military, law enforcement and police units worldwide.

Another Israeli system was showcased publicly in Thailand last year, when a short-range drone defense system developed by Israel’s IMI Systems (Israel Military Industries) was operated by the Thai Air Force during the royal funeral ceremony of former king of Thailand,  

The Red Sky 2 Drone Defender system successfully neutralized two attempts to activate drones in the vicinity.