Originally Posted By TxRabbitBane:
Funny that they mention the galil... one of the Israelis I used to work with said his IDF unit was very happy when they got to dump their galils and get M-16s.
Probably a whole lot of factors...reliability/parts availability/weight issue/accuracy and ammo availability. Perhaps because the US shipped large quantities of the M16 at a bargain price?
Just found this, thought it interesting; "I just read an interesting excerpt from Joe Poyers book on Kalashnikov rifles on why the M16 was issued to Israeli troops over the Galil. Seems that the forged receiver of the Galil "... proved tricky and costly to manufacture and the rifle's introduction was delayed, first by manufacturing difficulties and then, when shipments were about to start, the Yom Kippur War (1973) broke out" Israel received massive shipments of US arms including the M16 which became standard issue in the IDF. As a result,the Galil was never widely issued to the IDF but was instead employed by specialized services such as armored and artillery units and Air Force antiaircraft personnel. I always thought the Galil HAD been issued widely and it's first real widespread combat use was the invasion of Lebanon by Israel."
http://balashnikov.com/showthread.php?4506-Galil-vs-M16
You might find this video interesting to watch (posted 3/2012),"COOK-OFF" TEST - IWI GALIL VS. COLT M16;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-o2JopK0iw
I wasn't able to get audio in this vid but I'm curious if they tested for accuracy after all this?
I see a lot of older posts comparing the M16 vs Galil and not too familiar with Galil weapons...has there been much improvement to match the M16?