Israeli Military Industries
From Freepedia
- This article is about the Israeli firearms manufacturer. For other uses, see IMI (disambiguation)
Israeli Military Industries Ltd., or IMI, (התעשייה הצבאית - 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.
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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.
IMI presently manufactures all manner of firearms, from small arms and machine guns to rockets and electronic systems.
During the past few years, the Israeli government has unsuccessfully tried to privatize IMI, either whole or in parts. The privatization efforts were hindered by the strategic importance of IMI to Israel's defense and a very strong workers union. To date, only a few of IMI's operations were sold. The government continues to subsidize IMI's losing divisions.
Over the past few decades, IMI's factories (which were located within the main cities since their underground beginnings) were relocated to non-urban locations. During these relocations, significant pollution has been detected in the vacated ground and water table, due to ill-disposed toxins used in the manufacturing processes.
Small firearms
IMI's 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. Possibly, the MP5 surpasses its popularity, but only within counter-terrorist networks. Overall, the Uzi has the highest sales statistics of all modern submachine guns, worldwide.
The IMI Galil is a compact assault rifle, being an adaptation of the AK-47 (Kalashnikov) 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, similar to the FAMAS.
In the 1980s IMI subcontracted an American firearms designer, Magnum Research, to design a magnum caliber, semi-automatic pistol for use by the IDF. The result was the Desert Eagle, a very powerful, but somewhat impractical, handgun made famous by Hollywood and first-person shooters.
Other products are created, mainly for use by IDF. The Uzi, however, is popular (as stated before) with many forces worldwide, while the Galil and Tavor are popular with counter-terrorist forces.
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 product 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.
Famous products
- Uzi submachine gun (and variants)
- Galil assault rifle
- Tavor TAR-21 bullpup assault rifle
- Negev light machine gun
- Jericho 941 handgun
- Desert Eagle magnum handgun
- Armor add-ons:
- Armor plating coat
- Explosive reactive armour
