Israel Military Industries
This article is about the Israeli firearms manufacturer. For other uses, see IMI (disambiguation)Israel Military Industries Ltd., or
IMI, ("תעשיי" "צבאית - תע"ש) is an
Israeli government-owned
firearm manufacturer. It manufactures firearms mainly for
Israeli security forces (especially Israel's army, the
Israel Defence Force or IDF), although its small arms are very popular throughout the world.In 2005 The Small Arms Division of IMI has been privatized as Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) Ltd. IWI is part of a group of companies that develops and manufactures a wide array of products used by armies and law enforcement agencies everywhere. IWI's weapon systems include the UZI SMG, JERICHO and BARAK handguns, the NEGEV light machine gun, GALIL Assault Rifle, GALIL Sniper Rifle, as well as the new TAVOR and MICRO TAVOR lines.
All these firearms have been weapons of choice of top military units and law enforcement agencies throughout the world.
Israel Weapon Industries firearms are developed in close collaboration with the Israel Defense Forces. IWI and the IDF establish joint R&D teams to create these weapons, whose ultimate configuration is the product of ongoing interaction, field tests, and modifications resulting from combat requirements.
The history of IMI goes back to the era of the
British Mandate of Palestine when the Jewish underground at the time (the
Haganah) resorted to manufacturing illegal weapons. Some therefore claim that the nucleus of IMI was formed as early as
1933.
Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) Ltd., small arms are some of the most popular in the world. The
Uzi submachine gun is arguably the most popular submachine gun in the world, because of its compact nature and reliability. Overall, the Uzi has the highest sales statistics of all modern submachine guns, worldwide.
The IWI
Galil is a compact
assault rifle, along with integrating some other design features. The
Negev is IMI's main
light machine gun. The
Jericho 941 is a semi-automatic
pistol, while the
Tavor is a
bullpup assault rifle.
In the
1980s an American firearms designer,
Magnum Research, contracted IWI to re-design and manufacture a Magnum
caliber (
.44 Magnum ,
.357 Magnum and
.50 AE), semi-automatic pistol. The result was the
Desert Eagle, a very powerful handgun made famous by
Hollywood and
first-person shooters.
Other products are created, mainly for use by IDF. The Uzi, however, is popular with many forces worldwide, while the Galil and Tavor are popular with counter-terrorist forces.
IMI has dedicated factories manufacturing
ammunition for firearms,
artillery (both explosive rounds and rockets),
tanks and air-to-ground (both stand-off and direct attack). Many of its products are standard
NATO-compatible, but IMI also produces
eastern bloc-caliber munitions. IMI is one of the leading suppliers of munitions to the
US Army and other NATO members.
Beside small firearms, the IMI also produces heavy firearms. IMI also engages in many upgrade project for military assault vehicles (tanks,
APCs and other
armoured fighting vehicles). Upgrade components include firepower, survivability and maneouverability.
IMI also produces a wide range of defensive products such as vehicles add-on
armor packages,
landmine clearing systems,
reconnaissance systems and bridges. It also produces aircraft
countermeasures such as
flares, decoys and
electronic countermeasures control systems, some of which IMI now offers for land and sea-based platforms.
*
Uzi submachine gun (and variants)
*
Galil assault rifle
*
Tavor bullpup assault rifle (and variants)
*
Negev light machine gun
*
Jericho 941 handgun
*
SP-21Barak handgun
*
Desert Eagle magnum handgun
*Armor add-ons:
**Armor plating coat
**
Explosive reactive armour*
Military equipment of Israel*
List of modern armament manufacturers*
Official site*
Israeli Weapons Industry*
IMI/IWI Weapons at isayeret.com
