IWI add suppressors to its portfolio, launching a new line for 5.56- and 7.62-mm assault rifles and machine guns
Once an accessory used only by specialists, in modern warfare the suppressor is becoming more and more a common use item also in the green army, showing its usefulness in various scenarios including the urban one. To answer new requirements IWI, part of the SK Group, launched a new family of suppressors that take advantage of the latest processing technologies
“The needs for suppressors have changed; in the past there was a need for being ultra quiet, but this comes with a price which is higher pressure in the system and more gases to the face of the shooter. So, we decided to go in the direction of 3D metal printing our suppressors; this new technology allows us to achieve suppression as well as lesser fumes to the shooter and other features,” Adam, Chief Product Manager at IWI explains. The IWI suppressors feature a bypass channel that routes gases around the core, cutting back pressure while maintaining sound attenuation.
EDR On-Line understands that the request for such items has increased considerably, obviously in Israel due to the war in Gaza, as well as among other countries. Which led IWI to launch this new line of products.
Although the company does not comment on customers, the link between IWI and Israeli Defense Forces is obvious, therefore we can guess that most design requirements came from the national customer. “The main requirement was, of course, sound reduction, then came flash reduction, reducing visual signature, followed by limiting the amount of gas both to the shooter’s face and that released from the suppressor,” Adam explained, adding that sound reduction was not only related to stealthiness but also to command-and-control issues, voice commands being still a key C2 system even in the personal role radio world.
The great reduction in gas expulsion is obtained thanks to complex geometries allowed by 3D printing, which also helps in designing a suppressor capable to last for a higher number of shots. It also adds to flexibility: “The 3D printing technology allows us to simultaneously print multiple styles or different versions of the suppressors that we need simultaneously. We can, on the same machine, produce multiple different suppressors, if needed,” Adam said, confirming how much this technology allows increasing production flexibility.
The IWI portfolio proposes six different suppressors, a shorter and a longer one respectively for 5.56×45 mmand 7.62×51 mm assault rifles, and machine guns of both calibres. The LP556K is designed to maintain maximum compactness to the M4 carbine, adding only 100 mm to the weapon overall length, the suppressor itself being 143.7 mm long; it has a mass of 398 grams. The standard version, LP556R, is 171 mm long and has a mass of 566 grams. Length and mass are marginally higher for the LP762K and the LP762R, respectively 150 and 190 mm, and 480 and 560 grams. All those suppressors are produced in Inconel 718, a high-strength, corrosion-resistant nickel chromium material capable to withstand temperatures close to 1,000 °C without losing performances. This allows producing two suppressors dedicated to machine guns, the LP762R-MG and the LP762L-MG, “R” and “L” standing for regular and long, respective length being 190 and 223 mm, while mass is 650 and 760 grams.
Of the seven suppressors announced by IWI, only one is not produced in Inconel 718, the LP762L-TI, the two last letters showing it is made of titanium, while the L indicated the length, which is 223 mm; titanium is not best suited for high temperatures, therefore this suppressor is dedicated to 7.62×51 long-barrel rifles, such as those used by designated marksmen who typically apply selective fire, thus shooting at low rate. The choice of that materiel is therefore related to mass saving; this suppressor is the lightest of the lot, and albeit it is the same size of the LP762L-MG its’ mass is only 350 grams, less than half that of the machine gun dedicated system. As all other suppressors, also the titanium one is produced adopting the 3D metal printing technology.
All IWI suppressors pair with the company Quick Detach Flash Hider that utilizes UZI-TEK™ lock for fast and secure mounting across all IWI as well as third-party platforms. Suppressors’ performances come from a combination of ammunition, calibre, barrel length, and so on, no data being provided in terms of sound suppression. Assault rifle suppressors in 7.62×51 mm calibre can obviously be used for weapons chambered in .300 AAC Blackout, becoming silencers when subsonic ammunition in that calibre is used.
“In summary, the most important thing is the fact that we basically talk to the customers. They tell us what they need, and we’re able to give them what they want. They need something that is reliable, which works, which does not ruin accuracy, it actually improves it, which does not makes the weapon dirty with all the gases, which does not blind due to gases coming on his face, these are all very important that we have to keep in consideration,” Adam concludes.
EDR On-Line understood that these newly announced suppressors are already in production for several customers, and they have successfully gone through US SOCOM tests. Moreover, in the United States IWI US recently launched a line of suppressors for civilian use.
Photos courtesy IWI
