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The IWI Galil ACE, also
marketed Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or manufacturer. Products can ...
as the IWI ACE is a series of
assault rifle An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', F.A. Moyer '' ...
s and
battle rifle A battle rifle is a service rifle chambered to fire a fully powered cartridge. The term "battle rifle" is a retronym created largely out of a need to differentiate automatic rifles chambered for fully powered cartridges from automatic rifles cha ...
s developed and manufactured by
Israel Weapon Industries Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), formerly the Magen division of the Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI), is an Israeli firearms manufacturer. It was founded in 1933. Formerly owned by the State of Israel, the Small Arms Division of IMI was pr ...
(IWI), produced in
5.56×45mm NATO The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, commonly pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, ...
, 7.62×39mm and
7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, straight walled, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first be ...
calibres.


Design details

The IWI Galil ACE series is based upon the original design of the
Galil The IMI Galil () is a family of Israeli-made automatic rifles chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges. Originally designed by Yisrael Galili and Yakov Lior in the late 1960s, the Galil was first produced by the state-o ...
, but instead utilises a modern design to increase its accuracy and lower its weight, while maintaining the original Galil's ergonomics, ease of maintenance and reliability under battle conditions. In the design, emphasis was particularly placed on increasing the reliability and accuracy under adverse battlefield conditions.


Weight reduction

The original
Galil The IMI Galil () is a family of Israeli-made automatic rifles chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges. Originally designed by Yisrael Galili and Yakov Lior in the late 1960s, the Galil was first produced by the state-o ...
was built with a machined solid steel billet action in order to increase the structural integrity and survivability of the rifle. Unfortunately this resulted in a weight of up to , depending on its variant, which was one of the primary criticisms from the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
. The Galil ACE has solved this issue by significantly reducing it's weight. IWI was able to achieve this by redesigning the action to integrate the steel with polymer, which is much lighter than the fully steel receiver of the original
Galil The IMI Galil () is a family of Israeli-made automatic rifles chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges. Originally designed by Yisrael Galili and Yakov Lior in the late 1960s, the Galil was first produced by the state-o ...
. While the upper receiver is machined steel and the receiver top features a MIL-STD-1913
Picatinny rail The 1913 rail (MIL-STD-1913 rail) is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mount ...
, polymer has been introduced to the lower receiver of the rifle to reduce the gun's weight.


Accuracy

According to ''
American Rifleman ''American Rifleman'' is a United States–based monthly shooting and firearms interest publication, owned by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). It is the 33rd-most-widely-distributed consumer magazine and the NRA's primary magaz ...
'': "Although this rifle is clearly based on the AK design, it demonstrated a superior level of accuracy potential compared to several of its cousins. The best single group of rounds at 100 yardsof 0.83″ and five-group average of 0.98″ was produced using the Federal Premium 123- gr. [] Power-Shok soft-point load" (testing done using 7.62×39mm 16-inch barrelled variant).


Trigger

The Galil ACE adopts the IMI Galil#Galatz, Galil Sniper trigger instead of the original Galil trigger, in order to improve accuracy compared to the standard Galil. This is a two-stage trigger, which IWI have modelled on the two-stage trigger of the
M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the United States Army, U.S. ...
. According to ''
American Rifleman ''American Rifleman'' is a United States–based monthly shooting and firearms interest publication, owned by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). It is the 33rd-most-widely-distributed consumer magazine and the NRA's primary magaz ...
'', the two-stage trigger is "clean and smooth with a 4 lb. 13 oz. [] trigger pull according to a Lyman digital trigger gauge".


Gas tube

The gas tube, unlike the AK-47 system, is mounted on the rifle via a dovetailed slide machined on the receiver upper-front block. This avoids any movement of the gas block influencing barrel vibration, which would degrade accuracy.


Long-stroke piston system

The rifle uses the Galil's
long-stroke piston Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to dispose of the spent ...
system. The long-stroke system is found in the M1 Garand,
AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...
(upon which the Galil's internal mechanism design borrowed heavily) and more recently in the
IWI Tavor The IWI Tavor, previously designated as the Tavor TAR-21 (Tavor Assault Rifle – 21st century), is an Israeli bullpup assault rifle chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, designed and produced by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI). It is part of the Tavor ...
.


Barrel

The barrel is chrome-lined, cold hammer-forged, with a 1:7″ twist for
5.56×45mm NATO The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, commonly pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, ...
, 1:7.5″ for 5.45×39mm, 1:9.5″ for 7.62×39mm, and 1:12″ for
7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, straight walled, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first be ...
.


Sights

The Galil ACE has a fully adjustable
iron sights Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons such as firearms, airguns, crossbows, and bows, or less commonly as a primitive finder sight for optical telescop ...
with tritium front post and two dot tritium rear aperture. It also features a
Picatinny rail The 1913 rail (MIL-STD-1913 rail) is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mount ...
for mounting various optical sight.


Stock

The standard buttstock found on the Galil ACE is a six-position telescopic stock that can be fitted with an optional cheek-piece to improve the sighting of the weapon when using an
optical sight A sight or sighting device is any device used to assist in precise visual alignment (i.e. ''aiming'') of weapons, surveying instruments, aircraft equipment, optical illumination equipment or larger optical instruments with the intended target. ...
. An optional right folding version of the standard buttstock is also available. The forearm consists of MIL-STD-1913
Picatinny rail The 1913 rail (MIL-STD-1913 rail) is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mount ...
s on the bottom and both sides for mounting accessories such as aiming optics. The side forearm rails have central grooves to provide routing channels for electric wiring used by pressure switch activated accessories. The forearm comes with quick detachable polymer covering panels that can be mounted to protect the rails when a side or bottom rail has no accessories mounted to it. The gas tube above the barrel also has a Picatinny rail mounted on top that is aligned with the rail mounted on the cover over the receiver.


Last round bolt catch

Another addition by IWI to the original Galil is the last round bolt catch (for variants of the ACE in 5.56×45mm NATO only). The bolt hold-open feature is a common request of military customers, to reduce reloading times during combat.


Variants


ACE 21

The Galil ACE 21 is chambered in
5.56×45mm NATO The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, commonly pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, ...
cartridge, and is compatible with the 35- and 50-round Galil magazines. It features a barrel length with a muzzle velocity of , an empty weight of , and a cyclic rate of fire of 680–880 rounds/min.


ACE-N 21

The Galil ACE-N 21 is a variant of the ACE 21 compatible with
STANAG magazine A STANAG magazine or NATO magazine is a type of detachable firearm magazine proposed by NATO in October 1980. Shortly after NATO's acceptance of the 5.56×45mm NATO rifle cartridge, Draft Standardization Agreement ( STANAG) 4179 was proposed i ...
s and with an empty weight of .


ACE 22

The Galil ACE 22 is similar to the ACE 21 but features a barrel length with a muzzle velocity of and with an empty weight of .


ACE-N 22

The Galil ACE-N 22 is a variant of the ACE 22 compatible with
STANAG magazine A STANAG magazine or NATO magazine is a type of detachable firearm magazine proposed by NATO in October 1980. Shortly after NATO's acceptance of the 5.56×45mm NATO rifle cartridge, Draft Standardization Agreement ( STANAG) 4179 was proposed i ...
s and with an empty weight of .


ACE 23

The Galil ACE 23 is similar to the ACE 21 and ACE 22 but features a barrel length with a muzzle velocity of and with an empty weight of .


ACE 31

The Galil ACE 31 is similar to the ACE 21 but is chambered in 7.62×39mm cartridge, and is compatible with the
AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...
/ AKM magazines. It features a barrel length with a muzzle velocity of and a similar empty weight of .


ACE 32

The Galil ACE 32 is similar to the ACE 31 but features a barrel length with a muzzle velocity of and with an empty weight of .


ACE 52

The Galil ACE 52 is a battle rifle variant chambered in
7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, straight walled, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first be ...
cartridge, and is compatible with the 25-round Galil Sniper magazines. It features a barrel length with a muzzle velocity of , an empty weight of , and cyclic rate of fire of 620–680 rounds/min.


ACE-N 52

The Galil ACE-N 52 is a variant of the ACE 52 compatible with
SR-25 pattern magazine An SR-25, AR-10 or LR-308 pattern magazine is a type of detachable firearm magazine based on the original Armalite AR-10 "waffle" magazine design introduced in the late 1950s, used for .308 Winchester and 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges. The design ha ...
s and with a similar empty weight of .


ACE 53

The Galil ACE 53 is similar to the ACE 52 but features a with a muzzle velocity of and with an empty weight of .


Civilian variants

IWI US offers a semi-automatic only variant of the Galil ACE, intended for the American civilian market. In October 2020, IWI US began production of an "extremely limited edition" 5.45×39mm variant of the Galil ACE. It was available in either a or barrel configuration, producing a total of 545 units in each barrel length and uses
AK-74 The AK-74 ( Russian: , tr. ''Avtomat Kalashnikova obraztsa 1974 goda'', lit. 'Kalashnikov assault rifle model 1974') is an assault rifle designed by small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1974 as a successor to the AKM. While primarily ...
-pattern magazines. As of 2023, IWI USA has discontinued their first generation Galil ACE semi-automatic only variants in favour for the Gen II line.


Galil ACE Gen II

In March 2023, IWI US introduced the Galil ACE Gen II. It is offered in four different calibres;
5.56×45mm NATO The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, commonly pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, ...
, 5.45×39mm, 7.62×39mm,
7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, straight walled, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first be ...
. The main improvements includes a free-floating M-LOK handguard and M4-style compatible buttstock.


Foreign variants


Galil Córdova

The Córdova is a Colombian Galil ACE variant produced under license via an agreement between
Indumil INDUMIL (a portmanteau of the Spanish language, Spanish words ''Industria'' ''Militar'', Military Industry) is a Colombian-based military weapons manufacturer. The company is run by the Government of Colombia, Colombian government. History Indum ...
and
IWI Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...
.


Chile adoption

The
FAMAE FAMAE (''Fábricas y Maestranzas del Ejército'', "Factories and Workshops of the Army") is a Chilean state-owned firearms manufacturer. Its products are used by the Chilean armed forces and the ''Carabineros'' police force. The company produces ...
has been producing licensed Galil ACE variants since 2014 as the
Chilean Armed Forces The Chilean Armed Forces () is the unified military organization comprising the Chilean Army, Air Force, and Navy. The President of Chile is the commander-in-chief of the military, and formulates policy through the Minister of Defence. In recent ...
'
service rifle A service rifle (or standard-issue rifle) is a rifle a military issues to its regular infantry. In modern militaries, this is generally a versatile, rugged, and reliable assault rifle or battle rifle, suitable for use in nearly all environments ...
.


Peru adoption

The Peruvian government has plans to produce the ACE under license, establishing a factory to produce up to 2,000 rifles per month.


Ukraine adoption

The
RPC Fort Fort (' (full name), ''НВО "Форт"'' (short name)) is a Ukrainian weapons manufacturer from Vinnytsia, Ukraine. History In 1991, a new company was formed to design and manufacture small arms for Ukrainian Interior Ministry, Security Serv ...
has been producing licensed Galil ACE variants since 2014: Fort-227 (ACE 22), Fort-228 (ACE 31) and Fort-229 (ACE 52).


Vietnam adoption

The IWI has established a $100 million factory in Vietnam via the
Z111 Factory The Z111 Factory (), formally registered as the 11 Precise Mechanical One Member Liability Company (), is a state-owned firearms and precision mechanics factory located in Thanh Hoá, Vietnam. The Z111 Factory was built in 1957, and was origina ...
, to produce an unspecified number of Galil ACE assault rifles for the PAVN. The Vietnamese industry has also developed multiple assault rifle designs based on the Galil ACE, having acquired the technologies and production right: The Galil ACE 31 and Galil ACE 32 were both adopted as the STV-215 and STV-380, respectively. It is chambered in 7.62×39mm cartridge, it has the charging handle located at the right-side of the rifle, the Galil ACE handguard is replaced with the traditional Galil-style handguards with
Picatinny rail The 1913 rail (MIL-STD-1913 rail) is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mount ...
on top, the buttstock is also replaced with the FN-FAL Paratrooper stocks with modifications for simpler production and ease of use, the original fire selector was replaced with an AK-style fire selector. * GK1 and GK3: testing configurations and technology demonstrators based on the Galil ACE with influences from the Kalashnikov rifles and AR-15–style rifles. Did not enter mainline service. * STL-5,56VN: a resemblance of the IWI US Galil Ace Gen II. Chambered in
5.56×45mm NATO The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, commonly pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, ...
, it features a M-LOK handguard, AK-style charging handle just like the STVs, and an adjustable folding stock similar to the Orsis T-5000's one. * SHMT-M1: amphibious rifle utilising the Galil ACE design platform and chambered in
5.56×45mm NATO The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, commonly pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, ...
.


Users

* : In service with Battalion d'intervention rapide. * * : Selected as the
Chilean Army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...
's new 5.56 mm standard-issue rifle. In 2014, the ACE began to be deployed in the Chilean Army. * : Manufactured by an agreement between
Indumil INDUMIL (a portmanteau of the Spanish language, Spanish words ''Industria'' ''Militar'', Military Industry) is a Colombian-based military weapons manufacturer. The company is run by the Government of Colombia, Colombian government. History Indum ...
and
IWI Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...
. * * : 3,000 ACE 31s used by the Guatemalan Police. * : Adopted by the
Haitian National Police The Haitian National Police (PNH; ) is the law enforcement and ''de facto'' police force of Haiti. It was created in 1995 to bring public security under civilian control as mandated in Haiti's constitution. As of 2023, the force has 9,000 acti ...
. Seen used sparsely by
Haitian Army Originating from the Army of Saint-Domingue (1791–1803), then the Indigenous Army (1803–1915), the Haitian Army (''Armée d'Haiti'') is the Land warfare, land component of the Armed Forces of Haiti. It is the largest branch of the armed forces ...
troops. * * : Laos received Vietnamese-made Galil ACEs in January 2019. * * : Used by the
Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...
. * * : The Peruvian government has plans to produce the ACE under license, establishing a factory to produce up to 2,000 rifles per month. * : The
Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police (PNP; ) is the national police force of the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currently, it has approximately 228,000 personnel to police a pop ...
uses the ACE 22N as one of its major assault rifles as of 2018. The
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA, ; Filipino: ''Ahensiya ng Pilipinas sa Pagpapatupad ng Batas Laban sa Bawal na Gamot'') is the lead anti-drug law enforcement agency, responsible for preventing, investigating and combating any d ...
use both the ACE-21N and ACE-22N. The
Philippine Coast Guard The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG; ) is the third armed uniformed service of the country attached to the Philippines' Department of Transportation, tasked primarily with enforcing laws within Philippine waters, conducting maritime security ope ...
received more than 4,000 units of ACE 21N in March 2020. * : Used by the South Sudanese Armed Forces. Chambered in 7.62×39mm. * : Royal Thai Army & Royal Thai Police. * : Used by the
Trinidad and Tobago Regiment The Trinidad and Tobago Regiment is the main ground force element of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. It has approximately 10,000 men and women organized into a Regiment Headquarters (located in Port of Spain) and four battalions. There is ...
. * : Galil ACE chambered in 7.62×39mm. * : ** ACEs used by Ukrainian troops training in the UK under British troops. ** Produced under license since August 2014 by
RPC Fort Fort (' (full name), ''НВО "Форт"'' (short name)) is a Ukrainian weapons manufacturer from Vinnytsia, Ukraine. History In 1991, a new company was formed to design and manufacture small arms for Ukrainian Interior Ministry, Security Serv ...
; ACE 22: designated as the "Fort-227", ACE 31: designated as the "Fort-228", and ACE 52: designated as the "Fort-229". * : ACE 31: designated as the "STV-215" and ACE 32: designated as the "STV-380", the number indicating its respective barrel length, were both selected as the standard-issue
service rifle A service rifle (or standard-issue rifle) is a rifle a military issues to its regular infantry. In modern militaries, this is generally a versatile, rugged, and reliable assault rifle or battle rifle, suitable for use in nearly all environments ...
s in the
People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...
(PAVN) to gradually replace their current AK-47-derived rifles. * : Used by the Zambian Army.


See also

* IWI Tavor X95


References


External links


Official website

Galil, el Israelita más Colombiano
(Indumil website, in Spanish) {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifles 7.62×39mm assault rifles 7.62×51mm NATO battle rifles Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2008 Kalashnikov derivatives Assault rifles of Israel