The SP-21 (or "Barak", meaning lightning in Hebrew) pistol was developed by Israel Military Industries (IMI) in 2002. Originally intended as a military pistol for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the Barak was supposed to replace in Israeli service the older Jericho 941 pistols of domestic origins, as well as the popular Glock pistols. Although the future of the Barak as an IDF service pistol is currently uncertain, IMI decided to introduce this pistol to the international market. It became available in Europe early in 2003, and in the United States by late 2003. In Europe, it is still known as "Barak", and in the USA it is known as "Magnum Research SP-21" (Magnum Research, Inc. is currently the sole importer of IMI firearms in the United States). The SP-21 pistol is available in most popular calibers: 9 mm Para, .40 S&W and .45ACP. It is also flexible in function. It has a double action trigger, a separated ambidextrous safety that allows it to be cocked and locked simultaneously, and a separate decocker button. The decocker button is located at the top of the slide, just forward of the rear sight. Additional features of the weapon are a polymer frame and an accessory rail under the barrel. As a result of these features, the gun is a potential rival to such pistols as a Glock or Walther P99.
