IDF soldiers
IDF soldiersIDF Spokesperson Unit

The IDF Technological and Logistics Directorate (Atal) are equipping combat soldiers with new scopes for their assault rifles, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday. 

The new M5 scopes are to replace the Meprolight scopes which were first introduced at the beginning of the last decade and reached its peak of popularity during the Second Lebanon War and Operation Cast Lead.

The new scopes are manufactured by Meprolight, an Israeli company based in Or Akiva, which was selected by the IDF as the sole supplier of the next generation of combat sights.

Thousands of scopes are intended to be delivered to active soldiers first, and will later be dispersed to reserve fighters. In the upcoming weeks the scopes will already be distributed to the Engineering Battalion, and afterwards to the infantry brigades - Golani, Paratroopers, Kfir, Nahal and Givati.

The new scopes are designed to be used on the M4 carbine (a shorter and lighter variant of the M16) and the Israeli Tavor rifle.

The Technological and Logistics Directorate explain that the new scope will have a significantly prolonged lifespan compared to previous models, which frequently broke and became misaligned when struck. The new scopes will operate on a tiny battery strong enough to last for 2,000 hours of operation, so that a soldier can use it without replacing it during most of his military service.

Likewise, the new M5 scopes are lighter weighing in at 300 grams and includes a built-in adapter,  as opposed to the old ‘Meprolight ' which weighs  370 grams with the adapter. Both are made from aluminum and fiber composites, and the M5 has plastic composite.

The new M5 Red-Dot Sight has a large display window and clearly-defined red dot for rapid target acquisition with both eyes open. The scope offers numerous reticle brightness intensities for the spectrum of tactical scenarios, including in harsh environmental conditions.

An officer involved in the project explained to Yedioth Ahronoth, "This is the main advantage of the new scopes. It has been proven that ‘projection scopes’ result in a much higher percentage of target acquisition than the old ‘metal and rail’ scope. The new scopes have a kind of flashlight which accompanies the target and allows for a more precise hit. This is a better, stronger and more accurate scope.”

Unlike other optical equipment in the IDF, the new scopes will be maintained by a national company and not by the soldiers themselves, in an effort to optimize the process of handling the current scopes and to save money.