Defense Minister Luis Petri ordered a delegation to travel to Israel on August 30 to evaluate the qualities of the ARAD 7 rifle and the possibilities that exist to acquire it. As reported by the Zona Militar website, the Ministry of Defense “is currently analyzing the potential opportunity to incorporate ARAD 7 assault rifles, manufactured by the Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) company.”
The portal reported that “the information was made known through a resolution, which authorized both the formation of the aforementioned delegation by officers of the Argentine Navy and Air Force, as well as its dispatch to the Directorate of International Defense Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense of Israel” , adding that sources consulted by Zona Militar “signed the intention to negotiate an agreement with the aforementioned country that allows the licensed production of the ARAD in Argentine territory; considering its good performance in the tests carried out at the IWI test ranges” .
It should be noted that for the possibility of producing such weapons in our country, it is conditioned by the quantity of weapons to be acquired by Argentina, since if what is sought is a “replacement of the FAL rifles at all levels, Israel could consider a proposal for technology transfer favorable to the Argentine initiative,” Zona Militar highlighted. However, it clarified that this would not seem to be the case “taking into account that current budgetary limitations make it extremely difficult to undertake a project of such magnitude.”
The Military Zone highlighted that the ARAD rifles “come in two major variants based on caliber, although it has not yet been clarified which one would be preferred by Argentine troops in the event of a possible acquisition, namely: the ARAD 5 and the ARAD 7. The first is an assault rifle based on the AR-15 system design line, capable of firing both 5.56 x 45 mm and 300 BLK caliber projectiles. Originally developed for Israeli special operators, these rifles feature a highly ergonomic design, reflected in their folding polymer stock and their features that make them easily usable by right- and left-handed shooters, weighing approximately 2.8 kilograms without a magazine. The second alternative uses 7.62 mm caliber ammunition, presenting a design oriented toward the concept of a semi-automatic sniper rifle/DMR.”
It is worth noting that the Dina Boluarte dictatorship in Peru has incorporated the ARAD 7 rifles. They were presented in the military parade that commemorated the last anniversary of Peruvian independence. In this case, Zona Militar reported that “the Peruvian Ministry of Defense has managed to reach an agreement with IWI so that its new weapons are assembled at the Army Weapons and Ammunition Factory (FAME SAC), presenting on that occasion part of the more than 10,000 units acquired to renew the capabilities of the infantry.”
However, the incorporation of Israeli weaponry brought some problems to the Boluarte dictatorship, since “the Peruvian Army and the Army Weapons and Ammunition Factory (FAME) are being investigated by the Attorney General’s Office as a result of a series of irregularities noted by the Comptroller General of the Republic in the framework of the purchase of 10,000 Israeli rifles in which a series of irregularities were noted since their contracting,” Infobae reported in February of this year, adding that “these irregularities would have been perpetuated, even, after the weapons were acquired, however, the purchase was made during the management of the current Commander General of the Army, César Briceño Valdivia, as president of FAME.”
According to the prosecution's complaint, for this purchase "private offers were requested from various buyers; however, and under inexplicable circumstances, the final acquisition was made through direct award with FAME, under the excuse that it had a more attractive offer ," Infobae reported.
A topic that will have to be followed more closely if we take into account the background of what happened in Peru with the company Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) and the Boluarte dictatorship, since currently in Argentina the analysis of the ARAD 7 is added to a list of at least five companies that seek to position themselves as successful bidders for a project to comprehensively renew individual soldier equipment for our Armed Forces. Several firms have been negotiating for some time with Fabricaciones Militares to offer co-manufacturing terms in the country.
Fountain:
