Israel Military Industries
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- This article is about the Israeli firearms manufacturer. For other uses, see IMI (disambiguation)
Israel Military Industries Ltd., or IMI, (התעשייה הצבאית - תעש) 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.
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[edit] History
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.
[edit] Small firearms
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[citation needed].
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.
[edit] Other products
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 manoeuverability.
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.
[edit] Famous products
- 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
- Tractor protection kit (TPK) for Caterpillar D7
- Armor kit for Caterpillar D9 bulldozer (L\N)
