Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Arms/Defense |
Founded | 1933 (privatized in 2005) |
Headquarters | , Israel |
Area served | Worldwide |
Products | Firearms, weapons |
Number of employees | Over 500 in Israel (excluding overseas) [1] |
Website | iwi |
Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), formerly the Magen division of the Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI), is an Israeli firearms manufacturer.
It was founded in 1933. [2] Formerly owned by the State of Israel, the Small Arms Division of IMI was privatized and renamed IWI in 2005.
IWI is one of the world's most famous and bestselling military arms manufacturers. [3] The Magen division rose to international prominence in the 1950s, as the creator of the Uzi, of which over 10 million would be produced, netting billions of dollars for the company. [4] Subsequent well known military exports have included the Jericho 941 semi-automatic pistol, Negev light machine gun, Galil assault rifle, Tavor assault rifle, and the DAN .338 sniper rifle.
IWI develops and manufactures guns used by armies and law enforcement agencies around the world. [5]
For many decades, IWI and the Magen division of Israeli Military Industries before it, has manufactured its weapons in Ramat HaSharon. The factory has for many years been regarded an important component of the manufacturing sector in Ramat HaSharon. In 2017, IWI announced it is planning to construct a new factory in Kiryat Gat, to which its manufacturing will re-locate when completed in 2020. The new Kiryat Gat factory, whose construction will cost NIS 180 million, will employ 560 full-time production workers and engineers on its assembly lines. [6]
IWI owns several factories overseas, for the manufacture of weapons for local markets. In India, IWI is establishing a joint-manufacturing center with Punj Lloyd (with IWI owning 49% of the plant, and Punj Lloyd owning 51% of the plant), which will be India's first privately-owned small-arms manufacturing plant. The factory will manufacture firearms for the Indian army. [7] IWI said in 2017, that it expects tenders with the Indian army in the region of $200–300 million. [8]
IWI also operates a manufacturing facility in Middletown, Pennsylvania USA. They locally manufacture the Zion-15, Tavor and Galil rifles, TS12 15+1 round semi-automatic shotgun as well as the Jericho, Masada and Galil pistols, among others. [9]
Name | Type | Year | Image |
---|---|---|---|
ARAD | Assault rifle | 2019 | |
Carmel | Battle rifle | 2019 | |
Dan | Sniper rifle | 2014 | |
Desert Eagle | Semi-automatic pistol | 1982 | |
Dror | Light machine gun | 1946 | |
Galil | Assault rifle | 1972 | |
Galil ACE | Assault rifle | 2008 | |
Jericho 941 | Semi-automatic pistol | 1990 | |
MAPATS | Anti-tank guided missile | 1984 | |
Masada [10] | Semi-automatic pistol | 2017 | |
Negev | Light machine gun | 1985 | |
Negev NG-7 | General-purpose machine gun | 2012 | |
SP-21 Barak | Semi-automatic pistol | 2002 | |
Tavor 7 | Bullpup battle rifle | 2017 | |
Tavor TAR-21 | Bullpup assault rifle | 2001 | |
Tavor TS12 | Bullpup semi-automatic shotgun | 2018 | |
Tavor X95 | Bullpup assault rifle | 2009 | |
Tavor X95 SMG | Bullpup submachine gun | ||
Uzi | Submachine gun | 1950 | |
Zion-15 | AR-15-style rifle | 2020 |
IWI offers anti-terrorism training to Israeli citizens and contracts its services to outside countries requiring security training and anti-terror training to protect assets and high-ranking officials. [11] IWI collaborates with the Metropolitan College of New York (MCNY) in New York City, which offers a classroom-based MA degree in Public Administration, Emergency Management, and Homeland Security. [12]
The IMI Galil is a family of Israeli-made automatic rifles chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges. Originally designed by Yisrael Galili and Yakov Lior in the late 1960s, the Galil was first produced by the state-owned Israel Military Industries and is now exported by the privatized Israel Weapon Industries.
The Uzi is a family of Israeli open-bolt, blowback-operated submachine guns and machine pistols first designed by Major Uziel "Uzi" Gal in the late 1940s, shortly after the establishment of the State of Israel. It is one of the first weapons to incorporate a telescoping bolt design, which allows the magazine to be housed in the pistol grip for a shorter weapon.
A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, more compact, concealable and more maneuverable than a conventionally configured firearm. Where it is desirable for troops to be issued a more compact weapon, the use of a bullpup configuration allows for barrel length to be retained, thus preserving muzzle velocity, range and ballistic effectiveness.
The IWINegev is a 5.56×45mm NATO light machine gun developed by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), formerly Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI).
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The Jericho 941 is a double-action/single-action semi-automatic pistol developed by Israel Weapon Industries that was introduced in 1990.
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The APS-95 was an assault rifle manufactured in Croatia by Končar-Arma d.o.o since 1995 and offered for export up to at least 2007. The manufacturing company, a subsidiary of the Croatian ARMA-GRUPA Corporation, has been manufacturing the ERO and Mini-ERO submachine guns since the mid-1990s.
A STANAG magazine or NATO magazine is a type of detachable firearm magazine proposed by NATO in October 1980. Shortly after NATO's acceptance of the 5.56×45mm NATO rifle cartridge, Draft Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 4179 was proposed in order to allow NATO members to easily share rifle ammunition and magazines down to the individual soldier level. The U.S. M16 rifle's magazine proportions were proposed for standardization. Many NATO members, but not all, subsequently developed or purchased rifles with the ability to accept this type of magazine. However, the standard was never ratified and remains a "Draft STANAG".
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IMI Systems, previously Israel Military Industries, also referred to as Ta'as, was an Israeli weapons manufacturer. The company manufactured weapons, munitions and military technology mainly for the Israeli security forces.
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The defense industry of Israel is a strategically important sector and a large employer, as well as a major supplier of the Israel Defense Forces. The country is one of the world's major exporters of military equipment, accounting for 10% of the world total in 2007. Three Israeli companies were listed on the 2022 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute index of the world's top 100 arms-producing and military service companies: Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries and RAFAEL. It is also a major player in the global arms market with a 2.3% share of the global exports of major arms as of 2023. Total arms transfer agreements topped $12.9 billion between 2004 and 2011. There are over 150 active defense companies based in the country with combined revenues of more than $3.5 billion annually. Israeli defense equipment exports reached $7 billion in 2012, making it a 20 percent increase from the amount of defense-related exports in 2011. With the war in Ukraine, arms exports reached $12.5 billion in 2022. Much of the exports are sold to the United States and Europe. Other major regions that purchase Israeli defense equipment include Southeast Asia and Latin America. India is also major country for Israeli arms exports and has remained Israel's largest arms market in the world.
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The FFV 890 was a Swedish assault rifle manufactured and designed by Försvarets Fabriksverk. The FFV 890 was based on the IMI Galil through a manufacturing licence, which in turn was based on the Finnish Valmet RK 62 and ultimately the Soviet AK-47. The FFV 890 was designed between 1975 and 1980, and its final iteration, FFV 890C, competed in the Swedish Armed Forces trials for the new 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle, where it ended up as a runner-up to the FN FNC, which was then chosen as the Ak 5. The FFV 890C was never widely adopted by any service, though some rifles were used by the Swedish police.
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