General Information

Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) is an Israeli private manufacturer of small arms. IWI was originally established in 1933 as the small arms division of what later became the state-owned defense entity, Israel Military Industries (IMI). In 2005 the Small Arms Division was privatized, renamed as IWI and sold to SK Group.

IWI products have been acquired by various countries and armed organizations, including: Angola,^[1]Middle East Monitor, Sale of Uzi manufacturer highlights Israeli hypocrisy towards arms trade, 21.07.2015^[2]Military Factory, Angola Infantry Arms List (Current and Former Types) Azerbaijan,^[3]Israel Defense, Watch: Azeri Armed Forces Carrying Israeli Weapons, 02.07.2018 Brazil,^[4]El-Cohete a la luna, Armas de Israel para el Cono Sur, 09.11.2025^[5]Israel Defense, IWI Expands Sales of Arad Rifles to Brazilian Law Enforcement, 15.07.2024^[6]The Rio Times, Rio de Janeiro’s State Police acquires 600 IWI Arad rifles, 13.10.2022 Cameroon’s Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR),^[7]African Arguments, Making a killing: Israeli mercenaries in Cameroon, 23.06.2020^[8]Amnesty International, Cameroon: Credible evidence that Army personnel responsible for shocking extrajudicial executions caught on video, 12.07.2018 Chile,^[9]FAMAE, Agregado de Defensa de Israel visitó FAMAE, 04.03.2016 Cote d’Ivoire^[10]Israel Defense, Ivory Coast special forces use Tavor assault rifles, 03.08.2020 Cyprus,^[11]Israel Defense, Cypriot paratroopers use Israeli weapons, 04.01.2021 Ecuador,^[12]Ecuador’s Army acquires 5,700 Israeli-made IWI Arad rifles, The Rio Times, 12.11.2022 Estonia,^[13]Estonian Yearbook of Military History, Republic of Estonia on the Road Back to the West. Background and Reality of the Israeli Arms Deal 1992/1993, 10.12.2014^[14]UPI, Estonia to make ammunition for Israeli arms, 23.11.1993 Kenya,^[15]SIPRI, Israeli Arms Transfers to Sub-Saharn Africa, October 2011^[16]Strategic Intelligence Service, Kenya Army’s Negev light machine guns and Galil sniper rifles Delivered by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), 06.01.2012 India,^[17]Strategic Frontier, Tavor in India : Israeli Assault Rifle’s Journey and Prospects in India, 16.12.2017 Mexico,^[18]Deadly Trade: How European and Israeli arms exports are accelerating violence in Mexico, December 2020 Panama,^[19]Defense, Panama continues its preparations and fight against drugs, 26.05.2019 Philippines,^[20]Israel Defense, Philippine Police Takes Delivery of Israeli Assault Rifles, 04.05.2018 Romania,^[21]Ministerul Apararii Nationale Statul Major al Fortelo Terestre, Politia Militara a Fortelor Terestre, 18.04.2016 Rwanda,^[22]Rwandan soldiers with israeli made 7,62 × 39 mm Galil ACE 32 assault rifles^[23]The Jazz Singer: IWI Tavor Review South Sudan,^[24]The New Arab, How Israel is sowing the seeds of a deadly war in South Sudan, 30.08.2019, Uganda,^[25]Conflict Armament Research, Weapon Supplies into Sudan’s Civil War, November 2018 Thailand,^[26]Jerusalem Post, Israeli Tavor-21 assault rifles spotted at Thailand’s Royal Coronation, 14.05.2019 Vietnam,^[27]Janes, Israel Weapon Industries to begin assault rifle production in Vietnam, 03.02.2014 and Zambia^[28]Israel Defense, Advanced Israeli weapon systems sighted at Zambian Army parade, 28.06.2021

Company History and Subsidiaries

IWI traces its history to 1933 as the small arms division of what later became Israel Military Industries (IMI), a state-owned defense manufacturer. The division gained international recognition in the 1950s with production of the Uzi submachine gun. In 2005, the small arms division of Israel Military Industries was privatized and restructured as Israel Weapon Industries (IWI). The privatization separated the division from the broader IMI organization and established it as a privately owned company focused on the design and manufacture of small arms. A later review by the State Comptroller of Israel identified significant shortcomings in the privatization process, concluding that procedural and valuation failures contributed to the company being sold at a particularly low price to Samy Katsav.^[29]Haaretz, The Magen Deal: Earning $3 Million a Year, Sold for $2.5 Million, 15.02.2005^[30]State Comptrollers and Ombudsmen of Israel, Sale of IMI’s small arms factories (Magen), 19.11.2007

Since the privatization, IWI has operated as part of SK Group, a private Israeli defense and security holding company that includes several technology and manufacturing subsidiaries, including Meprolight, Israel Shipyards and Camero-Tech.^[31]SK Group

IWI has a subsidiary in the USA, IWI US, established to serve the local market.^[32]IWI, About Us

Main Products

IWI manufactures a range of small arms, including pistols, assault rifles, light machine guns, submachine guns and sniper rifles. The company’s main products include the Uzi Submachine Gun, Tavor, Galil, Arad and Carmel Rifles, Negev Light Machine Gun, Jericho and Masada Pistols.

While the core focus is on manufacturing firearms, IWI also provides training in security and anti-terrorism techniques for various clients and offers cooperative research and development arrangements, particularly in joint programs with the Israel Defense Forces.^[33]IWI, About Us