Israel Weapons Industries (IWI), formerly the "Magen" division of the Israel Military Industries

Israel Military Industries

Israel Weapons Industries , formerly the "Magen" division of the Israel Military Industries Ltd. is an Israeli firearms manufacturer. In 2005, the Small Arms Division of IMI was privatized....

 Ltd. (IMI) is an Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i firearm

Firearm

A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...

s manufacturer. In 2005, the Small Arms Division of IMI was privatized. (IWI). IWI is part of a group of companies that develops and manufactures a wide array of guns and rifles used by armies and law enforcement agencies around the world.

Products

IWI's weapon systems include the Uzi

Uzi submachine gun

The Uzi is a family of Israeli open bolt, blowback-operated submachine guns. Smaller variants are considered to be machine pistols. The Uzi was one of the first weapons to use a telescoping bolt design which allows for the magazine to be housed in the pistol grip for a shorter weapon.The first Uzi...

 submachine gun

Submachine gun

A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...

, Jericho

Jericho 941

The Jericho 941 is a double action/single action semi-automatic pistol developed by Israel Weapon Industries and introduced to the market in 1990 as the Jericho 941. It was first imported into the US in 1990 by K.B.I., Inc. of Harrisburg, PA. It was later imported by O.F. Mossberg & Sons and named...

 and Barak handgun

Handgun

A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....

s, the Negev

IMI Negev

The Negev is an Israeli 5.56 mm light machine gun, developed by Israel Military Industries Ltd. of Ramat HaSharon , as a replacement for the 5.56 mm Galil ARM light machine gun, whose barrel would overheat easily during sustained fire...

 light machine gun

Light machine gun

A light machine gun is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.-Characteristics:...

, Galil

IMI Galil

The Galil is a family of Israeli small arms designed by Yisrael Galil and Yaacov Lior in the late 1960s and produced by Israel Military Industries Ltd of Ramat HaSharon...

 and Tavor

IMI Tavor TAR-21

The TAR-21 is an Israeli bullpup assault rifle chambered for 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition with a selective fire system, selecting between semi-automatic mode, burst mode, and full automatic fire mode. It is named after Mount Tavor, while "TAR-21" stands for "Tavor Assault Rifle - 21st Century". It is...

 assault rifle

Assault rifle

An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...

 lines.
The Galil is a compact assault rifle

Assault rifle

An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...

. The Negev is IWI's main light machine gun

Light machine gun

A light machine gun is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.-Characteristics:...

. The Jericho 941

Jericho 941

The Jericho 941 is a double action/single action semi-automatic pistol developed by Israel Weapon Industries and introduced to the market in 1990 as the Jericho 941. It was first imported into the US in 1990 by K.B.I., Inc. of Harrisburg, PA. It was later imported by O.F. Mossberg & Sons and named...

 is a semi-automatic pistol

Pistol

When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...

. The Tavor is a bullpup

Bullpup

Bullpups are firearm configurations in which the action is located behind the trigger group and alongside the shooter's face, so there is no wasted space for the buttstock as in conventional designs. This permits a shorter firearm length for the same barrel length for improved maneuverability, and...

 assault rifle.

In the 1980s an American firearms designer, Magnum Research

Magnum Research

Magnum Research Inc. is a privately held corporation based in Fridley, Minnesota which manufactures and distributes firearms. The majority owners, Jim Skildum and John Risdall , have been with the company since its founding in 1979...

, contracted IWI to re-design and manufacture a Magnum caliber

Caliber

In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....

 (.44 Magnum

.44 Magnum

The .44 Remington Magnum, or simply .44 Magnum, is a large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers. After introduction, it was quickly adopted for carbines and rifles...

, .357 Magnum

.357 Magnum

The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...

 and .50 AE), semi-automatic pistol. The result was the Desert Eagle

Desert Eagle

The Desert Eagle is a large-framed gas-operated semi-automatic pistol designed by Magnum Research in the U.S. and by IMI in Israel; the pistol is manufactured primarily in Israel by IMI...

.

Security Training

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.
IWI collaborates with the Metropolitan College of New York

Metropolitan College of New York

Metropolitan College of New York , formerly known as Audrey Cohen College, is a college located at 431 Canal Street in New York City. The college also maintains offices at its previous location, around the corner, at 75 Varick Street.-Academics:...

 (MCNY) in New York City, which offers a classroom-based MA degree in Public Administration, Emergency Management and Homeland Security. All students attend an intensive seminar in Israel covering Homeland Security and Anti-Terrorism topics with top security and military experts.

See also

• Military equipment of Israel
  Military equipment of Israel
  The military equipment of Israel includes a wide array of arms, tanks, planes, cannons, armored vehicles. Many of these are purchased overseas. Up until the Six-Day War of 1967, the Israel Defense Forces' principal supplier was France, since then, it has been the United States government and...
  
  
• List of modern armament manufacturers
• Science and technology in Israel
  Science and technology in Israel
  Science and technology in Israel is one of the country's most developed sectors. The percentage of Israelis engaged in scientific and technological inquiry, and the amount spent on research and development in relation to gross domestic product , is amongst the highest in the world...
  
  
• Economy of Israel
  Economy of Israel
  The economy of Israel is a technologically advanced market economy, including a rapidly-developing high-tech and service sectors. As of 2010, Israel has the 24th largest economy in the world, and ranks 15th among 169 world nations on the UN's Human Development Index, which places it in the category...