Soo I went on the internet, and found this: (Negev internals)

[Don_prince]

I've been looking ages for this. This video shows some of the internals of the famous negev, in arma its called the zafir and one of my favourite weapons.

 

Now this video shows the internals for the normal Negev, but from the pictures in the article below the NG7 is not that different:

About the Negev: (source: http://www.sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=2365 )

IWI NEGEV NG7 CAL. 7.62 NATO

Israel since her birth always had two main needs: to be independent for her own weapons procurement and to maximize the efficiency of the troops deployed in the battlefield.  The NG7 is an answer for both these requirements, being completely developed and designed in Ramat Ha’Sharon by Israel Weapon Industries, with the same operation and handling of the Negev cal. 5.56 currently in service, and being the lightest LMG in 7.62 NATO caliber.

Presented in March 2012, it is the intention of Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) that the light machine gun (LMG) NG7 caliber 7.62 NATO will replace part of the Negev caliber 5.56×45 and part of the GPMG MAG 7.62×51 that are currently in use.

The design, as well as the action, the locking system and the operative system are clearly derived from those of the Negev 5.56 NATO, from which it inherits a good number of features.

The project, before going into production, faced an intensive period of field testing that the IDF nicknamed “ping-pong” that lasted about three years.  During this time several NG7 prototypes were issued to IDF combat units and returned to IWI with the related feedback.  Those feedbacks inevitably generated design modifications until a final version of the product, fully responding to specific Tsaha’l requirements, had been obtained.

The NG7 is equipped with an IWI ELOG system.  This electronically logs the real use of the weapon through a computer, allowing in turn the unit armorers to provide programmed maintenance according to real parameters and eventually to investigate any malfunction circumstances.



Operating System
The NG7 is a light machine gun (LMG) operated by a gas system called “gas impact.”  The firearm starts the shooting cycle with the open bolt to avoid cook-off after prolonged fire.  When the trigger is pulled the bolt, that is locked in a full rear position, is released and starts to go forward pushed by two compressed recoil springs.  During its travel a cartridge is taken from the belt, chambered and the bolt, thanks to its locking lugs, engages the corresponding lugs in the barrel extension and locks.  The bolt carrier, in this phase, keeps going forward, exposing the firing pin that strikes the cartridge primer.  Upon discharge, the bullet goes through the barrel, pushed by the rapidly expanding gas, until one third of the barrel length is reached, where the gas port is located.  A portion of the gas vents through the hole and runs through a regulating valve and the gas cylinder until it hits a short piston that is integral to two operating rods linked to the bolt carrier.  The gases then push back the piston and, through the two parallel operating rods, the bolt carrier located in the upper part of this subassembly that, operating a cam, makes the bolt head to rotate and unlock.  The cartridge is extracted and ejected along with the link of the feeding belt and, during the rearward movement, the bolt carrier operates the belt feeding mechanism making it advance and putting a fresh cartridge in position to be chambered until it reaches the maximum rear position.  If the trigger is kept pulled, and the fire selector is on the full auto position, the cycle is repeated until the weapon runs out of ammunition or the trigger is released.

Structure and Components
The NG7 structure is divided in four main groups: barrel, action, bolt/and bolt carrier, stock.

The NG7 can mount two different barrels, made by cold hammering process, of different lengths: one for the standard version 20-inch long (508 mm) barrel and one for the SF (Special Forces) version being 16.5 inches long (420 mm); both with 4 grooves right hand 1:12 inches (1 turn every 304.8 mm) rifling twist.  The chamber and bore are chrome lined to reduce barrel wear.  A 5 radial slot flashider is threaded on the muzzle and about one third of the total length there is the gas port block.  This component, mounted on the barrel by pressure and pinned, has three sub-components: gas regulator valve, gas cylinder and front sights.

The gas regulator valve, internally chrome lined to resist the high temperature of detonation gases, has only two positions instead of three, the assault rifle magazine feed option of the Negev in 5.56 is not present here: one for use in normal conditions and the other when the firearm is dirty, ensuring the correct operation of the gas system.  The front post-type sight, like the M16A1, is protected by two sturdy ears opened on the sides and adjustable both in elevation and windage to perform the mechanical zeroing.

A little before the cartridge chamber there is the carry handle that can be laterally folded and provided with a plastic grip for heat insulation.  It can also be used to remove the barrel when change is needed during a firing action.



The barrel ends with a barrel extension provided in the upper part with the lugs for fast locking it to the breech block.  Internally it shows the locking lugs to accommodate the bolt and completed with the feed ramp to facilitate correct cartridge chambering.

The NG7 body is made by ribbed and stamped steel sheets and assembled to machined steel and welded blocks.  The metal folding process is obtained using a particular industrial stamping method in order to obtain the metal box that forms the weapon’s receiver accurately respecting the project dimensions with minimal tolerances.

We can divide the weapon body in three sections: front, central and railed.  The front section is a stamped steel cradle where is attached by means of screws the plastic front handguard.  On the sides of the handguard, front portion, there are two short Picatinny rails to mount electronic devices such as target designators or any other electronic/optronic device useful for the mission.  At the front end of the action is welded the first steel block, used as a front support for the barrel, which also holds the gas cylinder and the locking base for the weapon bipod.  Welded on the left side there is the swivel ring to hook one end of the assault sling.  The NG7 bipod is folded toward the muzzle, allowing the shooter to aim the weapon not only to the left and to the right, but also to rotate it on its longitudinal axis and to be adapted to any configuration of the supporting surface.  In the central section is another machined steel block, welded to the action metal sheet.  The block shows at the front side the locking lugs to lock the barrel.  The action of locking and unlocking the barrel is operated by a side button, on the right upper part of the action, just before the receiver cover.

When a barrel is inserted in place during a barrel change, the top locking lugs, thanks to inclined plans, move sidewards to the corresponding metal projections until the insertion is completed.  At this point the barrel catch button is operated by a spring and returns to the initial position locking the barrel in place.

A safety mechanism on the left side of the barrel catch button does not allow that it can be depressed if the receiver cover is not opened.  The bottom of the steel block is milled to allow the bolt group to move; the rail section starts from the central block and reaches the rear end of the action, were the stock begins.  This section takes its name from the two rails that guide the bolt group during its cyclic movement.  They are welded to the internal walls of the action to ensure the maximum precision for a smooth operation while firing.



On the right side of the rail section just behind the central block are two ejection ports: the upper one is for the links of the disintegrating ammunition belt, the lower one is for the spent cases.  Both are closed when carrying the weapon by two metallic lids to prevent dirt and debris from getting inside the machine gun’s mechanism.  Note that even being two different lids, they are articulated by a hinge.  When the lids are closed a little projection in the internal wall lower lid engages and locks to a notch in the bolt carrier.  When the bolt is armed and starts its rearward movement, the projection unlocks and, operated by springs, the two lids open and fold over the action.

The cocking knob is non-reciprocating and located on the right hand side.  Welded to the weapon is the related rail where the knob travels.  The cocking knob is provided with a ratchet safety mechanism to avoid accidental discharges of the gun if the cocking knob is not put in the full forward position after cocking the bolt.  The case ejector is internal, a pivoting type, located under the left bolt rail and operated by a suitable bolt carrier curve.

Different from its smaller “sister” in intermediate caliber, the NG7 does not have a magazine well for the assault rifle magazine nor the related lid to keep the dirt out.  This machine gun is belt fed only, from both a standard ammunition box or fabric and polymer drums with capacity of 100 or 125 7.62 NATO rounds, docked to the proper rail located in the lower part of the weapon body.  The absence of a magazine well opening allows the NG7 to take a great benefit in terms of action rigidity.

On the top of the rear section of the action is located a short Picatinny rail to mount standard iron sights (standard issue) or optical sights of any kind.  The rear iron sights, when in use, are the diopter type (reproducing this way the type used on M16s, a firearm still widely present in the IDF weaponry) adjustable in elevation by a graduated drum from 300 meters range up to 1,000 meters, with intervals of 100 meters and windage.

The last component of the action is the rear block, built out of a machined steel block welded to the stamped sheet body.  This serves several functions, such as to give further structural rigidity to the action itself, to hold the recoil spring group and buffer and to provide the mount point for the rear stock.

The feeding mechanism is located in the action central section and is made by three sub assembly groups: belt tray, receiver cover and feeding lever.



The feed tray, on the left side, is shaped like a funnel to allow easy ammunition belt feeding and avoid eventual jamming.  The weapon can only use M13 disintegrating links.  The receiver cover, hinged at the front, is short to allow the shooter to open it without being exposed to enemy fire or when inside narrow places such as vehicles.  It contains two pairs of pawls: the first two are positioning pawls with the function of keeping the cartridge aligned with the barrel axis, ready to be chambered and, simultaneously, to push it slightly down to favor feeding by the bolt.  The second pair are retention pawls and have the task to make the belt move to the right and preventing the belt from moving backward.

The feed lever, located on the left side of the gun and at the center of the feed tray, transmits the movement to the ammunition belt: it is operated by a kind of rocking movement through a protrusion machined on the bolt carrier mechanism.

The NG7 has four different safety mechanisms to avoid accidental or premature discharge when the gun is not in a full safety.

The first safety system is on the fire selector.  When the safety is on, the trigger mechanism is neutralized and the bolt can’t be cocked because has been blocked, or in locking position or in full rear position.  The second safety is the ratchet on the charging handle.  That blocks the bolt if the charging handle has not been fully pulled rearward and again pushed completely forward.  If the shooter does not perform these two movements in the correct way, allowing the bolt carrier to engage the sear, there is the danger that upon releasing the charging handle the bolt could start to move forward and, if an ammunition belt has been loaded, to accidentally chamber a round and shoot.

The third system is an automatic safety against out of battery fire if the bolt is not perfectly locked.  Until the bolt head has not fully engaged the locking lugs in the barrel extension, the firing pin can’t hit the primer because if the bolt has not fully rotated it protrudes out of the bolt carrier and the firing pin can’t, in turn, protrude out of the bolt face from its hole.

Finally, the fourth system is the one that does not allow barrel removal.  If the receiver cover is not open the barrel catch button can’t be depressed.



The trigger group is contained in the pistol grip assembly of the weapon.  Built in polymer on a steel frame, it is assembled to the body by a front pivot joint and a rear removable pin.  This assembly includes the trigger, the stamped trigger guard, the safety/fire selector, the disconnector and all the related internal levers.

The fire selector is located on the left side of the pistol grip and can be operated by the shooter’s thumb.  It has three positions: safety, marked with an “S” or with the Hebrew letters “Nun Tzadik,” semiauto fire and letter “R” (Repetition, from British English) or with the Hebrew letter “Beth,” and full auto fire, marked with the letter “A” or with the Hebrew letter “Aleph.”  The semiauto feature was present in the Negev in 5.56 and is a unique feature for a weapon of this kind, ensuring important operative flexibility and safety.

The bolt group includes the bolt, the bolt carrier and the firing pin.  The bolt carrier is similar to the version in 5.56.  Built from a steel bar through CNC machining, has the approximate shape of a parallelepiped with two protruding arms, the operating rods that reunite at the front end with a crossbar.  In the middle of the crossbar there is the gas piston, crossed by annular grooves.

The bolt carrier operating rods are machined on the upper profiles to operate the pivoting case ejector, the feed lever and the disconnector, in order to activate all the mechanisms that contribute to make the gun work.  The two operating rods accommodate the recoil springs and the recoil springs rods.  The bolt carrier in the upper part has a machined groove shaped like an “S,” where the cam pin of the bolt head runs.  This last component has a machined stem on the rear that is inserted in the bolt carrier and acts as a pin in the front part of the bolt head and there are 4 sturdy locking lugs angled at 90 degrees.  Only the extractor is present, pushed by a strong coil spring, but not the ejector as that is a different subassembly and actuated by a protrusion machined in the bolt carrier.

There are two recoil springs with related spring rods, locked at the rear through the return spring base.  Mounted on this last one there is a cylindrical polymer buffer, bigger than the one used in the Negev in 5.56 caliber.

The skeleton type of stock present on the Negev in 5.56 NATO and in the first production samples of the NG7 has been abandoned: to save weight and instead IWI has chosen a telescopic polymer stock mounted to the rear stock base – it’s the GLR-16 CP model produced by FAB Defense, another Israeli company.  The stock has two integral side sling mounts for Quick Detach sling rings and a further slot as sling mount.  The buttstock has a rubber cover and is deeply grooved to offer a better shoulder grip and recoil absorption.



The buttstock is hinged at the bottom and can accommodate in a storage compartment two spare CR123 batteries or AA type and is also equipped with an adjustable cheekrest.  The hinged buttstock is offered as an option.

Field stripping the NG7 is quite simple.  Once being sure that the weapon is unloaded, put the safety on.  Then open the receiver cover, press the barrel catch button and remove the barrel holding it by the carrying handle.  Then press the stock catch at the rear stock base and slide the stock assembly upward, gaining access to the interior of the NG7 body.  With both thumbs press the recoil spring base and move it upwards until it unlocks from the rear block.  Extract the recoil group by pulling rearward the cocking knob until the bolt group can be extracted.  Any further disassembly must be performed by qualified personnel.

Range Test
The range test was held at the IWI facility in Ramat Ha’Sharon.  We didn’t want to test the accuracy of the NG7 but, rather, its controllability related to the use of the full power 7.62 NATO ammunition in a platform that weighs almost half of a GPMG in the same caliber.  The setup was the standard with the 20-inch barrel with no iron sights but a red dot Meprolight Mepro 21 sight.  The weapon was equipped with the assault sling and a front handle angled at 45 degrees.

To prepare the weapon to shoot you must first put the safety off, cock the bolt until it locks in the rearward position and then push the cocking knob all the way forward.  Put the safety on.  Then open the receiver cover and place the ammunition belt with the first round against a metal protrusion present in the feed block.  Close the receiver cover.  The weapon is now with the bolt cocked and locked and the safety on.

Though being an LMG and not a GPMG, the comparison with weight and dimensions between the two comes natural to mind.  The Israeli LMG is well balanced and there is a little effort to handle it, thanks also to the front angled optional handle.  The safety/selector is easily reachable and operable with the thumb of the right hand; effortlessly switching with precision the gun from safety condition to semiautomatic and full auto.

The assault sling wasn’t used but firing was done from the position commonly associated with a firearm of the category: standing and from the hip.  We started with the semiauto mode, to carefully evaluate the timing from the trigger pull and when the gun starts to shoot.  The NG7 behaves surprisingly well: of course the response of a weapon that starts its shooting cycle with the open bolt can’t be the same as a weapon that fires from a closed bolt.



The weapon does not jump or shake and the semiautomatic mode allows the operator to handle the gun with more confidence (the Israeli army is based for the major part on reserve and conscript combat personnel) in a CQB environment.  We then switched to full auto, focusing our attention in obtaining short bursts.  With the NG7, it is not difficult, with little training, to obtain two round bursts almost immediately.  Of course the optimum is to shoot bursts between 3 and 5 rounds.  The rate of fire is claimed by the manufacturer as having identical values as the 5.56 NATO version, between 850 rounds and 1,050 rounds per minute with the valve on position one and 950/1,150 with the valve in position 2.

We tested, as comparison, the Negev SF in 5.56 caliber that, of course, is more stable (it weighs only 500 grams less than the standard NG7) and manageable.  The test made us appreciate even more the excellent control features of the bigger Negev sister.

Tightening the arm grip on the stock against the hip, the NG7 is easily handled in the follow up, allowing to engage and hit targets in different positions and distances at short to medium range with the first burst.  It is worth reminding that the hip position, even being important in MOUT combat situations, is used only in CQB and in the very rare “assault mode” cases.

Conclusions
After the not so brilliant debut of the Dror in 7.7x56R (.303 British) and 7.92×57, IWI has sensibly improved and learned a lot concerning LMGs and in 1997, with the Negev 5.56×45, has reached an important credibility in the very restricted world of machine gun producers.  The Negev 5.56 from the adoption by the IDF has widely demonstrated its qualities and it is very appreciated by the soldiers.

The design of the platform showed over time its validity, and that’s why the NG7 inherits most of the mechanical and technical characteristics of the 5.56×45 version.  The structure if the action, for example, has a square and small section, with welding replacing the rivets.  The square section is due to the use of the side feed lever mechanism, instead of using a mechanism located on the top of the bolt carrier, a thing that would force the designer to increase the overall height of the action.

This shape of the transverse section intuitively offers a bigger structural rigidity, increased by the absence in the 7.62×51 version of the bottom opening for the magazine feed, bringing the NG7 to better face the stress due to the full power ammunition used in this gun.  From this point of view the trade off is positive.  However, the option to have a NG7 version with magazine feed would bring to life to a really “universal” weapon in the 7.62×51 LMG small market niche: a lighter and very handy LMG/SAW.

Another interesting benefit of the Negev is that they offer side ejection of spent cases and not at the bottom as it happens most of the time.  This allows a correct centering of the ammunition drums directly under the weapon body, avoiding the typical unbalancing of the drums attached on the side, a forced solution when the ejection is downward.   This is a major advantage when shooting from the hip.

The NG7 uses a “simple” polymeric buffer instead of a mechanical/hydraulic one.  This choice provides simplicity and lower costs but the rate of fire, in turn, is quite high.  Indubitably the NG7, with a weight of only 7,600 grams without ammunition and with the bipod mounted, is the lightest LMG in 7.62×51 on the market, and thus is ready to conquer new sales.  The need for this kind of weapon are not recent requirements, even if, currently, the biggest pool of users for these LMGs are the Special Forces operators or elite unit in general when the terrain is particularly difficult.  It is worth mentioning the compact dimensions: the SF version of the NG7 with a 16.5 inch barrel and with folded stock spans just 730 millimeters and the NG7 advantages are well in evidence.