IWI ACE

The IWI Galil ACE is a series of assault rifles and battle rifles developed and originally manufactured by an Israeli firearm manufacturer, Israel Military Industries (IMI) of Ramat HaSharon, now produced by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) after IMI privatised and renamed their small arms division. It is also produced under license by Indumil,[1] FAMAE,[2] RPC Fort[3] and Z111 Factory.[4] It is produced in three different calibres; 5.56×45mm NATO, 7.62×39mm and 7.62×51mm NATO.

IWI Galil ACE
Galil ACE 22 in 5.56×45mm NATO
TypeAssault rifle
Carbine
Battle rifle
Place of originIsrael
Service history
In service2008–present
Used bySee Users
WarsColombian conflict
Mexican Drug War
Production history
DesignerIsrael Military Industries
ManufacturerIsrael Weapon Industries
(Formerly: Israel Military Industries)
Also produced under license by:
VariantsSee Variants
Specifications
Cartridge
ActionGas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire
  • 680–880 rounds/min
    (ACE 21, ACE 22, ACE 23, ACE-N 21, ACE-N 22, ACE 31, ACE 32)
  • 620–680 rounds/min
    (ACE 52, ACE 53)
Muzzle velocity600 to 915 m/s (1,970 to 3,000 ft/s)
Effective firing range300 to 500 m (330 to 550 yd)
Feed systemDetachable box magazines
SightsTritium front post and rear diopter iron sights, or Picatinny rail for various optical sights

The Galil ACE series is based upon the mechanism of the IMI Galil, but uses a modernised design and materials to increase its accuracy and lower its weight, while maintaining the Galil's ergonomics, ease of maintenance and reliability under battle conditions.[5] Emphasis was placed in particular in increasing its reliability and accuracy under adverse or battlefield conditions.

It is the main standard-issue assault rifle of the Colombian Army, Navy, Air Force and Colombian Police, the Chilean Army, and of the People's Army of Vietnam.

Design details

Weight reduction

The original Galil was built with a machined solid steel billet action in order to increase the structural integrity and survivability of the weapon. Unfortunately this resulted in a weight of up to 9.6 lb (4.4 kg), depending on its variant, which was one of the primary criticisms from the Israel Defense Forces.

The ACE has a significantly reduced weight. IWI redesigned the action to integrate the steel with polymer, which is much lighter than the fully steel receiver of the original Galil.[5] While the upper receiver is machined steel and the receiver top features a MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail, polymer has been introduced to the lower receiver of the weapon to reduce the gun's weight.[6]

Accuracy

According to American Rifleman: "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 [5 rounds at 100 yards] of 0.83″ and five-group average of 0.98″ was produced using the Federal Premium 123-gr. [8.0 g] Power-Shok soft-point load" (testing done using 7.62×39mm 16-inch barrelled variant).[7]

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.[5]

Long-stroke piston system

The rifle uses the Galil's long-stroke piston system. The long-stroke system is found in the M1 Garand, AK-47 (upon which the Galil's internal mechanism design borrowed heavily) and more recently in the IWI Tavor.

Barrel

The barrel is chrome-lined, cold hammer-forged, with a 1:7″ twist for 5.56×45mm NATO, 1:9.5″ for 7.62×39mm and 1:12″ for 7.62×51mm NATO.

Trigger

The ACE adopts the Galil Sniper trigger instead of the original Galil trigger, in order to improve accuracy compared to the standard Galil.[8] This is a two-stage trigger,[6] which IWI have modelled on the two-stage trigger of the M1 Garand.[9]

According to American Rifleman, the two-stage trigger is "clean and smooth with a 4 lb. 13 oz. [4.8 lbf, 21.4 N] trigger pull according to a Lyman digital trigger gauge".[7]

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.[10]

Sights

The ACE has a fully adjustable iron sights with tritium front post and two dot tritium rear aperture. It also features a Picatinny rail for mounting various optical sight.

Stock

The standard buttstock found on the 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. An optional right folding version of the standard buttstock is also available.

The forearm consists of MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rails 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.

Variants

Military variants

The Galil ACE is available in three different calibres with multiple barrel lengths for each type.[11]

Model Calibre Barrel length Length (extended) Length (retracted) Weight (unloaded) Feed system Muzzle velocity Range Cyclic rate of fire
ACE 21 5.56×45mm NATO 216 mm (8.5 in) 730 mm (29 in) 650 mm (26 in) 3.00 kg (6.61 lb) 35-round Galil magazine 710 m/s (2,300 ft/s) 300 m (330 yd) 680–880 rounds per minute
ACE-N 21 5.56×45mm NATO 216 mm (8.5 in) 730 mm (29 in) 650 mm (26 in) 3.05 kg (6.7 lb) 30-round NATO magazine 710 m/s (2,300 ft/s) 300 m (330 yd) 680–880 rounds per minute
ACE 22 5.56×45mm NATO 335 mm (13.2 in) 847 mm (33.3 in) 767 mm (30.2 in) 3.40 kg (7.5 lb) 35-round Galil magazine 850 m/s (2,800 ft/s) — 680–880 rounds per minute
ACE-N 22 5.56×45mm NATO 335 mm (13.2 in) 847 mm (33.3 in) 767 mm (30.2 in) 3.45 kg (7.6 lb) 30-round NATO magazine 850 m/s (2,800 ft/s) — 680–880 rounds per minute
ACE 23 5.56×45mm NATO 463 mm (18.2 in) 976 mm (38.4 in) 896 mm (35.3 in) 3.60 kg (7.9 lb) 35-round Galil magazine 915 m/s (3,000 ft/s) 500 m (550 yd) 680–880 rounds per minute
ACE 31 7.62×39mm 216 mm (8.5 in) 730 mm (29 in) 650 mm (26 in) 3.00 kg (6.61 lb) 30-round AK magazine 600 m/s (2,000 ft/s) — 680-880 rounds per minute
ACE 32 7.62×39mm 409 mm (16.1 in) 927 mm (36.5 in) 847 mm (33.3 in) 3.50 kg (7.7 lb) 30-round AK magazine 680 m/s (2,200 ft/s) — 680–880 rounds per minute
ACE 52 7.62×51mm NATO 409 mm (16.1 in) 954 mm (37.6 in) 874 mm (34.4 in) 3.60 kg (7.9 lb) 25-round 7.62mm Galil magazine 800 m/s (2,600 ft/s) — 620–680 rounds per minute
ACE 52L 7.62×51mm NATO 457 mm (18.0 in) 992 mm (39.1 in) 912 mm (35.9 in) 3.71 kg (8.2 lb) 25-round 7.62mm Galil magazine 830 m/s (2,700 ft/s) — 620–680 rounds per minute
ACE 53 7.62×51mm NATO 511 mm (20.1 in) 1,055 mm (41.5 in) 963 mm (37.9 in) 3.8 kg (8.4 lb) 25-round 7.62mm Galil magazine 860 m/s (2,800 ft/s) — 620–680 rounds per minute

At some point, the ACE 52L was removed from the production line.

Civilian variants

IWI US offers a semi-automatic only version of the Galil ACE, including all three different calibres.

In October 2020, IWI USA began production of an "extremely limited edition" 5.45×39mm variant of the Galil ACE, available with a 16 inch (40.64cm) or 8.3 inch (21.08cm) barrel, producing a total of 545 rifles in each size. They are compatible with AK-74 magazines.[12]

  • Galil ACE 21 (5.56×45mm NATO) with a cheek weld attached on its buttstock. Note the 35-round Galil magazine being used
  • Galil ACE 32 (7.62×39mm) uses AK-47 / AKM magazines
  • Galil ACE 52 (7.62×51mm NATO) uses the 25-round Galil Sniper magazine
  • Galil ACE SBR in (7.62×39mm) semi-automatic only intended for the U.S. civilian market
  • Galil ACE rifle in (7.62×51mm NATO) semi-automatic only with a cheek weld attached on its buttstock. Note that it accepts NATO STANAG magazines
  • Galil ACE SBR in (7.62×51mm NATO) semi-automatic only in short-barrelled rifle configuration

Users
Users of the Colombian Galil in Latin America
The Colombian Police armed with the ACE 22.

See also

References
  2. "Chile quita poderosa arma al Perú". 27 June 2014. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. "Штурмовая винтовка "Форт-227"". официальный сайт НПО "Форт" (in Russian).
  4. http://www.janes.com/article/33334/israel-weapon-industries-to-begin-assault-rifle-production-in-vietnam
  5. Ortenzi, Paolo (29 May 2013). "Galil Ace 5.56". Small Arms Defense Journal. Volume 5. p. 1.
  6. Ortenzi, Paolo (29 May 2013). "Galil Ace 5.56". Small Arms Defense Journal. Volume 5. p. 2.
  7. Horman, B. Gil (19 January 2015). "IWI Galil ACE Semi-Automatic Rifle".
  8. Johnson, Steve (24 August 2010). "Galil Ace Rifle". The Firearm Blog.
  9. Kokalis, Peter G. (2001). Weapons Tests and Evaluations: The Best of Soldier of Fortune. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press. p. 253. ISBN 978-1581601220.
  10. Tilstra, Russell C. (21 March 2014). The Battle Rifle: Development and Use Since World War II. McFarland. p. 98. ISBN 978-0786473212.
  11. "ACE". Israel Weapon Industries.
  12. B, Eric. "Extremely Limited Edition – Galil Ace in 5.45×39". The Firearm Blog.
  13. Binnie, Jeremy; de Cherisey, Erwan (2017). "New-model African armies" (PDF). Jane's. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 June 2017.
  14. "FIDAE: Chilean Army Selects Galil ACE as New Standard Rifle". Defense News. 26 March 2014. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014.
  15. "El Ejército de Chile comienza a desplegar el nuevo fusil Galil ACE" [The Chilean Army begins to deploy the new Galil ACE rifle]. defensa.com (in Spanish). 24 September 2014.
  16. "IWI Galil ACE 5.56 mm assault rifle (Israel), Rifles". Jane's Information Group. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2010.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. Johnson, Steve (11 January 2012). "El Salvador also to buy Galil Ace". The Firearm Blog.
  18. Johnson, Steve (16 February 2011). "IWI Galil ACE rifle adopted by Guatemala National Civil Police". The Firearm Blog.
  19. Nathaniel F. (30 April 2014). "Haitian Police Spotted with Galil ACE, T65 Rifles". The Firearm Blog. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  20. Việt Nam cung cấp súng trường Galil cho Lào - DVO - Báo Đất Việt
  21. Johnson, Steve (13 February 2014). "IWI Galil ACE Spotted In South Sudan and Mexico". The Firearm Blog. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  22. Johnson, Steve (30 November 2010). "Peru licenses the new Galil ACE rifle". The Firearm Blog. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  23. Inauguran Planta de Producción de Fusiles Galil
  24. "PDEA PRESENTS PROCURED HIGH POWERED FIREARMS, PROTECTIVE AND IT EQUIPMENT". Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. PDEA. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  25. Amid genocide allegations, Israel mum on halting arms sales to Myanmar | The Times of Israel
  26. https://twitter.com/UN_CAR/status/1326301841039241217
  27. "Штурмовая винтовка "Форт-228"". официальный сайт НПО "Форт" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  28. "Штурмовая винтовка "Форт-229"". официальный сайт НПО "Форт" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  29. "Israeli IWI Galil ACE 31 and ACE 32 assault rifles to replace Russian AK-47 in the Vietnamese Army". Army Recognition. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  30. Grevatt, Jon (3 February 2014). "Israel Weapon Industries to begin assault rifle production in Vietnam". Jane's Information Group. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  31. [Indo Defense 2018] Vietnamese Small Arms Part Two: Grenade Launcher's, Galil ACE's, and OSV-96's -The Firearm Blog
  32. https://kienthuc.net.vn/quan-su/lan-dau-thu-nghiem-sung-truong-bo-binh-moi-cua-quan-doi-viet-nam-1390374.html

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