Developed by Israel Military Industries in close cooperation with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), this new rifle received the name of "Tavor" and the designation of TAR-21 (Tavor Assault Rifle, for 21st century). Like most modern rifes, the TAR21 shares all the "modern" features, like the bullpup layout, polymer housing, optical sights as a prime sighting equipment, modular design with several different configurations (very short submachine gun, standard assault rifle and a para-sniper accurized rifle with heavy barrel). The TAR-21 has ejection ports on both sides of the rifle so it can easily be reconfigured for right or left-handed shooters. However, this process requires partial disassembly, meaning that a rifle configured for right-handed shooters cannot quickly be shot from the left shoulder around the left side of an obstacle, and vice-versa, as most conventional rifles can be.

The TAR-21 design is based on advanced ergonomics and composite materials in order to produce a more comfortable and reliable rifle. The TAR-21 is waterproof and lightweight and includes an advanced red-dot reflex sight as well as being mounted for different scopes, night vision systems and other electronic devices.