IWI this week advised it has put its Masada series 9mm pistol on a weight-loss routine, resulting in the svelte new Slim model, headed to dealers sometime later this year. 

The standard Masada was introduced a couple of years back with a 4.1-inch barrel, giving it an overall length of 7.4 inches, along with enough height to flush fit a standard 17+1 capacity magazine. In other words, it was about the size of a Glock 17.

The new Masada Slim reportedly has both a thinner profile and a more compact design, using a 3.4-inch barrel with enough grip to accommodate 13-round magazines. This puts the new IWI pistol slightly larger than "Micro 9" territory, woods that are crawling with the likes of the Sig P365 series, and closer to the Glock 43X.

Featuring a flat-faced trigger, because what doesn't in 2022, the Masada Slim comes with a white front dot sight and a blacked-out rear sight. IWI says it is the same sight cut as the full-sized Masada, which is a generic way to say they are Sig Sauer patterns, meaning aftermarket sights for P226s and P320s will fit. Further, the slide is MRD-ready, using an RMS Shield cut for direct mounting. This footprint is about as close to universal as it gets these days except for possibly the Trijicon RMR/SRO pattern when it comes to MRD cuts, as Holosun EPS Carry, 507K X2, Sig Romeo Zero, and many others use it. 

IWI isn't releasing many more details than that so far, other than the fact that it is expected to start shipping sometime between tomorrow and September. With that, stay tuned. We'll let you know as soon as we find out more.