Developed by the Israeli Weapons Industries, TAR-21 is produced under license in Vinnytsia at RPC Fort. The rifle uses a “bullpup” configuration, in which the bolt carrier group is placed behind the pistol grip; this shortens the overall length but does not sacrifice barrel length. As a result, the TAR-21 provides carbine length, yet achieves rifle muzzle velocities. The housing is made of impact-resistant plastic reinforced metal which helped to significantly reduce the weight.
The Fort-221 is chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO caliber with a selective fire system, selecting between semi-automatic mode and full automatic fire mode with an effective range of 500 meters.
Formally, the production of the “Fort-221” under Israeli license began in Ukraine in 2009, but until recently these assault rifles and a shortened variant, the “Fort-224,” were only purchase in small quantities for Special Forces of the SBU (Ukrainian Security Service). It is known that, after the beginning of the conflict in Donbas that the “Fort-221” appeared among the weapons used by the “Tornado” battalion of the MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs). The Defense Ministry reported on its intention to purchase about 500 of these weapons.
The RPC Fort produces assault rifles under a license for Tavors to be manufactured in Ukraine.
- Fort-221 – Ukrainian locally produced version of the CTAR-21 in 5.45×39mm.
- Fort-222 – Ukrainian locally produced version of the STAR-21 in 5.45×39mm.
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