FAL's Not Reliable in the Desert Thats why the IDF dropped them.

[goon]

It is my understanding that enough sand can cause most anything short of a claw-hammer to jam.

 

[444]

You just hit on something that to me is obvious, but I think a lot of people forget about this fact when discussing guns on the internet.
For some reason a myth exists in gun circles that someone invented a miracle machine that is immune to sand.

 

[buzz_knox]

Once again, we hear the argument that the Galil is not used because the M16 is cheaper. Of course, this argument ignores one thing: the facts. The Galils are sitting in the warehouses, available for use. Given that Israel has a manpower shortage in the military means that those Galils not issued immediately are available as spares. So why oh why are they not using those weapons, which they have freely available and for which they incurred a large expense Why are they spending money on our gear? By the way, yes Israeli does get aid from us. But, does no one stop to wonder why they spend that aid on M-16s rather than high-tech gear which is more expensive? It's a bad return on their, our, whatever investment?

The simple reason is that the Galil is unsatisfactory for their use. It is considered as too heavy for a 5.56mm, and is prone to microfactures in the barrels (according to the IDF at least).

 

[MrMurphy]

They still issue the Galil to armor and artillery units, up till last month at least I KNOW (having seen current pics and video from there).

 

[buzz_knox]

They still issue the Galil to armor and artillery units, up till last month at least I KNOW (having seen current pics and video from there).

Support and AFV units still have them, because the additional weight isn't much of an issue for them.

 

[Jaywalker]

buzz_knox:

By the way, yes Israeli does get aid from us. But, does no one stop to wonder why they spend that aid on M-16s rather than high-tech gear which is more expensive? It's a bad return on their, our, whatever investment?

Good point, but consider that Foreign Military Sales credits must be spent on puchasing US-made equipment, and there are likely limitations on what high-tech the Sate Department (not the Defense Department) will approve. They can't (IIRC) use the credits to support Israeli-made equipment. Since purchase price is only a small part of the cost, it's likely that buying an M16 and supporting it under FMS credits would be cheaper than merely supporting the Galil locally. Also, logistically, you want to minimize the number of weapons, both from a parts, maintenance, and training issue. Can't speak to the reliability of the Galil.

Jaywalker