IWI Negev

The IWI Negev (also known as the Negev NG-5) is a 5.56×45mm NATO light machine gun
developed by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), formerly Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI).
 IWI Negev

Negev NG-5 5.56×45mm NATO light machine gun

Type Light machine gun (Negev NG5)

General-purpose machine gun (Negev NG7)

Place of origin Israel

Service history

In service 1997–present[1]

Used by See Users

Wars Al-Aqsa Intifada

2006 Lebanon War

Gaza War

War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)[2]

Operation Protective Edge

War in Donbass

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Production history

Designer Israel Military Industries (IMI)

Designed 1985–1990

Manufacturer Israel Weapon Industries (IWI)

(Formerly: Israel Military Industries), made under

license by Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems[3][4]

Z111 Factory

Produced 1995–present

Variants See Variants

Specifications
Mass 7.65 kg (Negev NG-5)

7.6 kg (Negev NG-5 SF)

7.95 kg (Negev NG-7)

7.8 kg (Negev NG-7 SF)

Length Negev NG-5:

1,020 mm stock extended

810 mm stock folded

Negev NG-5 SF:

890 mm stock extended

680 mm stock folded

Negev NG-7:

1,100 mm stock extended

1,030 mm stock folded

Negev NG-7 SF:

1,012 mm stock extended

942 mm stock folded

Barrel length 460 mm (18 in) (Negev NG-5)

330 mm (13 inch) (Negev NG-5 SF)

508 mm (20 in) (Negev NG-7)

420mm (16.5 inch) (Negev NG-7 SF)

Cartridge 5.56×45mm NATO (Negev NG-5 and Negev NG-5

SF)

7.62×51mm NATO (Negev NG-7 and Negev NG-7

SF)

Action Gas operated, rotating bolt

Rate of fire NEGEV NG-5 and NEGEV NG-5 SF:

850–1,050 rounds/min (Regulated position 1 for

Magazine Fed and Regulated position 2 for Belt
Fed)

950–1,100 rounds/min (Regulated position 3 for

Extreme Conditions)

NEGEV NG-7 and NEGEV NG-7 SF:

600–750 rounds/min (Regulated position 1 for Belt

Fed and Regulated position 2 for Belt Fed Extreme
Conditions)
 Muzzle velocity 915 m/s (3,002 ft/s) (Negev NG-5)

850 m/s (2,789 ft/s) (Negev NG-5 SF)

860 m/s (2,822 ft/s) (Negev NG-7

810 m/s (2,657 ft/s) (Negev NG-7 SF)

Effective firing range 300–1,000 m sight adjustments (Negev NG-5)

300–800 m sight adjustments (Negev NG-5 SF)

Maximum firing range 1200 m

Feed system Negev NG-5 and Negev NG-5 SF:

150-, 200-round disintegrating M27 ammunition

belt, 35-round box magazine or STANAG NATO
magazines

Negev NG-7 and Negev NG-7 SF:

100- and 125-round disintegrating M13 NATO

ammunition belts

Sights Aperture with elevation drum, adjustable front post,

folding tritium night sights, and a Picatinny rail for
various optical sights

In 2012, IWI introduced the Negev NG-7 7.62×51mm NATO general-purpose machine gun and is
used by the Israel Defense Forces (mainly in the infantry, combat engineer and special forces
units). The NG stands for Next Generation.

Design details

Negev NG-5 fed from an ammo box in a shooting range with the IDF
The Negev is a gas-operated selective fire light machine gun that uses propellant gases from the
barrel to cycle a short-stroke gas piston operating system under the barrel and a rotary bolt locking
mechanism. The bolt itself features 4 radial locking lugs that engage the barrel extension and its
rotation is controlled by a pin on the bolt body, which rides inside a camming guide machined into
the bolt carrier. The bolt contains a spring-powered casing extractor unit, while a lever ejector is
housed inside the receiver (it is rotated by the recoiling bolt carrier).

The design was meant to be reliable, especially in adverse conditions.[5] In 1997, it was officially
adopted by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

Striker firing mechanism

The Negev is striker-fired, where the bolt carrier assembly acts as the striker, and fires from an
open bolt position. A lever-type fire control selector switch is provided ("A" – for fully automatic fire
and "R" – for semi-automatic fire), installed on the left side of the pistol grip, which doubles as a
manual safety against accidental firing. The safe "S" position disables the sear mechanism (which
makes it impossible to cock the bolt carrier), by lifting the lever responsible for holding the bolt
carrier in the forward position and disconnects the trigger mechanism from the sear. The weapon
can be secured safe regardless of the position of the bolt carrier group. The cocking handle is
equipped with a ratcheting mechanism that immobilizes the partially cocked bolt carrier.

Gas regulator

The Negev's adjustable gas regulator has three settings:

setting "1" is used exclusively when feeding from a magazine (rate of fire in this mode is around
850–1,050 rounds per minute).

setting "2" is used in normal operating conditions when feeding from a belt (rate of fire in this
mode is also around 850–1,050 rounds per minute).

setting "3" which is used under adverse operating conditions, such as in the presence of dust,
dirt or heavy fouling (rate of fire in this mode is around 950–1,150 rounds per minute).

Early prototypes used a different 3-position gas adjustment system:

setting "1"—for normal operations.

 setting "2"—for adverse environmental conditions.

setting "3"—isolates the gas system, and is used to launch rifle grenades with the use of a
grenade-launching blank cartridge drawn from a special 12-round magazine from the Galil rifle.

Barrel

The Negev has a quick-change chrome-lined barrel that is manufactured using a cold hammer
forging process. The barrel is fitted with a slotted flash suppressor and a fixed carry handle, which
is used to transport the weapon and change-out an overheated barrel. The barrel can be changed
only after lifting open the feed tray cover.

During the weapon's initial development a barrel with a 1 in 305 mm (1:12 in) rifling twist rate was
also planned, adapted for the lightweight M193 cartridge. Additionally, a multifunction muzzle
device was designed, used to launch rifle grenades.

Sights

The Negev's iron sights (closed-type) consist of a front post (adjustable for both windage and
elevation) and a rear aperture sight with an elevation adjustment drum, with 300 to 1,000 m range
settings in 100 m increments. The sight line radius is 440 millimeters (17.3 in). For night-time
operation the weapon is equipped with gaseous tritium-illuminated vials (supplied by Betalight): one
installed in the front sight post, and two—on a notch sight under the standard aperture sight arm
(before use, the rear sight leaf is pivoted forward to expose the night notch sight). A rail is
integrated into the receiver top cover that allows optical day and night-time sights to be mounted to
the weapon. The barrel can also be optionally fitted with mounting hardware that would allow the
Negev to mount a laser pointer or reflex sight.

The machine gun has a metal side-folding (right side) stock and a removable bipod, installed to the
forward end of the handguard and folded under the handguard when stowed. The receiver also
has slots and hooks used to secure the weapon to vehicle mounting hardware.

Cartridges

The Negev uses the 5.56×45mm NATO intermediate cartridge and is optimized for the SS109
bullet. Field maintenance involves stripping the weapon down to six main groups: the barrel, stock,
bolt carrier, bolt, bipod and return mechanism. All parts, including the quick-change barrels are fully
interchangeable. The Negev NG-7 uses the 7.62×51mm NATO full-power battle rifle cartridge.
Ammunition feeding

The Negev feeds from an M27 disintegrating, open-link ammunition belt, carried in a 150-round
fabric container that clips into the magazine well, or alternatively from a 35-round box magazine
from the Galil assault rifle, or a 30-round STANAG magazine from the M16 rifle (with the use of an
adapter). 200-round ammunition belt containers are also available. Belted ammunition is
introduced into the feed tray port from the left side, while the magazine is inserted vertically into the
magazine well at the base of the receiver. The feed system uses a pawl feeding mechanism, driven
by the recoiling bolt carrier, but the belt is moved only during the rearward movement of the bolt
carrier. The non-reciprocating charging handle is located on the right side of the weapon.

Variants

Negev NG-5

A top view of the Negev NG-5

Negev NG-5 – is a light machine gun is chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge. It has a
barrel length of 460 mm (18.11 inch) and two operation modes; semi-automatic for accurate and
fast controlled fire, and fully automatic for maximum firepower.[6]

Negev NG-5 SF – is a compact variant of the Negev NG-5. It uses a shorter barrel and is
primarily fitted with the (Negev assault grip).[7] It has a barrel length of 330 mm (12.99 inch).[8][6]

Negev NG-7
Negev NG-7 – is a general-purpose machine gun is chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO
cartridge. It has a barrel length of 508 mm (20 inch) and two operation modes; semi-automatic
for accurate and fast controlled fire, and fully automatic for maximum firepower.[6] It is fed by a
100- or 125-round assault drum magazine containing disintegrating M13 NATO standard
ammunition belts or NATO standard ammunition belts and has two gas regulator settings as the
possibility for box magazine feeding was omitted. The IWI eLog weapon-embedded sensor
module was added to collect and store data on the actual use of the weapons for more efficient
maintenance management and servicing by armourers.[9]

Negev NG-7 SF – is a compact variant of the Negev NG-7. It uses a shorter barrel and is
primarily fitted with a side grip (Negev assault grip).[7] It has a barrel length of 420 mm (16.5
inch).[6]

Gallery

FN MAG (on the left), IWI Negev NG-5 (on the right)

Negev NG-5 (on the left), M4A1 (on the right)

IDF infantry soldier with a Negev NG-5 light machine gun during Operation Defensive Shield, 2002

IDF infantry soldier fires a Negev NG-5 light machine gun during training
IDF instructor with a Negev NG-5 light machine gun

Users

 Azerbaijan[10]

 Brazil: Used by Military Police of São Paulo State[11],Military Police of Amazonas State[12] [13]

 Cameroon: Used by Battalion d'intervention rapide[14]

 Colombia[1]

 Costa Rica[1]

 Cyprus: Used by mechanised infantry and paratroopers.[15]

 Democratic Republic of Congo: Used by Presidential Guard units in 2010[16]

 Equatorial Guinea[16]

 Estonia[1][17]

 Georgia[18] Since May 2010, standard issue light machine gun of the GAF. Heavily used by
Georgian units in Afghanistan.[19]

 India: 5.56 variant serving as standard issue LMG for Special Forces from earlier. An order
for 16,479 NG-7s was placed in March 2020 to replace all the INSAS Light Machine guns
present with the Indian Army,[20] which were subsequently delivered in February 2021.[21]

 Israel: The Negev was adopted by the Israel Defense Forces in 1997[1][22] and the Negev
NG-7 was adopted in 2012. [23]
  Ivory Coast:[14]

 Kenya: Kenya Defense Forces[24]

 Mexico: Mexican Federal Police[25]

 North Macedonia:[26] Police Special Forces

 Paraguay: Paraguayan Army.[27]

 Philippines: Philippine National Police[28] Philippine Coast Guard

 Senegal: Used by special forces and commandos[14]

 Tanzania: Used by Tanzanian Special Forces.[14]

 Thailand: Purchased 1,000 machine guns in 2007, and another 550 in 2008.[29]

 Vietnam: In service with Naval Special Forces.[30]

 Ukraine: Known as Fort-401[8]

See also

Daewoo Precision Industries K3

M249 light machine gun

M60 machine gun

FN Minimi

FN Maximi

FN EVOLYS

FN MAG

HK MG4

HK MG5

PK machine gun

PKP Pecheneg machine gun

QJY-88

QJS-161
QJY-201

RPL-20

Ultimax 100

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External links
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to IMI Negev.

The Negev LMGs in the IWI official website:

Negev SF ([Link]

Negev NG-7 ([Link]

Negev NG-7 SF ([Link]

Israel Weapon Industries – Homepage (Main Website) ([Link]

Israel Weapon Industries – Negev (Main Website) ([Link]

Israel Weapon Industries – (Main Negev LMG Brochure) ([Link]

e/[Link])

Retrieved from
"[Link]
title=IWI_Negev&oldid=1078800625"

Last edited 9 days ago by [Link]