Insurgency in Cabo Delgado <br/>Banjska attack
<!-- Production history -->| designer = Yisrael Galili of Israel Military Industries
| design_date = Late 1970's early 1980's
| variants = R5, R6, LM4, LM5, LM6
<!-- General specifications -->| weight =
| length = <small> with stock extended</small>
History
It entered service as the standard service rifle of the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1980. with several modifications; both the stock and magazine are now made of a high-strength polymer and the stock was lengthened, adapting the weapon for the average South African soldier.
Features
thumb|left|A South African soldier, part of the [[United Nations|UN peacekeeping force, armed with an R4 during a training exercise in 2013]]
The R4 is hammer-fired and uses a trigger mechanism with a 3-position fire selector and safety switch.
The stamped sheet steel selector bar is present on both sides of the receiver and its positions are marked with letters: "S"— indicating the weapon is safe, "R"—single-fire mode ("R" is an abbreviation for "repetition"), and "A"—Afrikaans (Automatic) .
The "safe" setting disables the trigger and secures the weapon from being charged.
The R4 is fed from a steel or synthetic box magazine with a 35-round cartridge capacity (designed to use the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge with the M193 projectile).
Variants
thumb|right|The LM5, a semi-automatic version of the R5 carbine
R5
The R5 is the license-produced version of the Galil SAR.
The R5, when compared to the larger R4, has a barrel that is shorter, together with a shorter gas system and handguard. It also lacks a bipod, and the flash hider does not support rifle grenades.
R6
In the 1990s, an even more compact personal defence weapon variant of the R5 was developed for armoured vehicle crews, designated the R6, which has a further reduced barrel and a shortened gas cylinder and piston assembly. This reduced the barrel length to .
- Eswatini Police
- Armed Forces of Haiti
- Haitian National Police
- Malawi Police Service
- 15,900 R4/R5s were delivered to Congolese security forces in 1996 and 1997
- Imported for use in the Rwandan National Army as of 1992
- Some captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Front
- Special Brigade
- SAJ
- Standard issue rifle of the South African National Defence Force
- The compact R5 carbine is popular among police and special response units
In popular culture
- Savior: 1998 war film starring Dennis Quaid set during the Bosnian War. Quaid's character uses an R4 modified as a designated marksman rifle.
- Hotel Rwanda: 2004 war drama starring Don Cheadle set during the Rwandan genocide; in this film a Rwandan soldier is seen using an R4 in several scenes.
- Machine Gun Preacher: 2011 biopic war film starring Gerard Butler, where soldiers of the South Sudan People's Defence Forces are seen using modified R4s.
See also
- Vektor CR-21
- RK 62
- Zastava M21
- List of assault rifles
- Israel–South Africa Agreement