IWI unveils Arbel accuracy-improvement electronic firing system

Negev NG7 fitted with the Arbel system. (Janes/Amael Kotlarski)

Janes has learnt that a new small-arms system that promises to improve the accuracy of shooters' follow-on shots by a factor of two to three times was first deployed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel in Gaza in October 2023.

The system, known as Arbel, was developed by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) over the last nine years and has been assessed by a number of international armed forces.

Arbel consists of an electromechanical trigger unit, a detection unit, a processing unit, and a replaceable battery integrated with an assault rifle or machine gun. The package aims to read the way a shooter presents the weapon shortly before taking their first shot, and releases the sear of the weapon for follow-up shots when it determines the weapon is pointing in the optimal direction. This enables the shooter to focus on keeping the target in sight and maintaining the appropriate amount of lead while the system compensates and mitigates external factors such as increased heart rate and breathing, flinching, spasms, and muscle fatigue in the shooter.

The system was originally developed on the Tavor and Carmel assault rifles, but the current production system will be offered in two forms: integrated onto an Arad lower receiver and as a pistol grip unit for the Negev series of machine guns. Although the form factor is different, and some changes were made to the processing unit's algorithms between the rifle and machine gun variants, the core principles remain the same.