Galil Assault rifle

The Galil employs the same action as Kalashnikov assault rifle, but has a number of improvements



Country of origin Israel
Entered service 1972
Caliber 5.56 x 45 mm NATO
Weight 3.95 kg
Length 979 mm
Length (with folded stock) 742 mm
Barrel length 460 mm
Muzzle velocity 950 m/s
Cyclic rate of fire 650 rpm
Practical rate of fire 40 - 100 rpm
Magazine capacity 35 rounds
Sighting range 500 m
Range of effective fire 500 m


The Galil assault rifle was developed in the late 1960s. It is named after one of its designers - Yisrael Galil. This weapon is based on the Finnish M62 assault rifle, which in turn is a clone of the Soviet AK-47. However the Galil is chambered for a different cartridge and has a number of other differences. It was adopted by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1972 and was a standard-issue infantry weapon until the early 1990s. The Galil is still used in Israel, even though it is being replaced by newer designs, such as the TAR-21 and X95. It has been exported to a number of countries. It is still used in more than 30 countries. The Galil was, or still is, license-produced in Columbia, Italy, Myanmar, and South Africa.

The Galil is a gas operated, selective fire weapon. It employs the same action as Kalashnikov assault rifle, but uses a modified gas system of the Finnish M62, which reduces the recoil. It is chambered for a standard NATO 5.56x45 mm ammunition. This version was adopted by the IDF. There is also a version chambered for a standard NATO 7.62x51 mm ammunition.

Fire mode selector has 3 positions for "safe", "semi-auto" and "full-auto". A charging handle is located on the right side, but it is bent upwards, so the weapon can be charged with either hand.

The standard 5.56x45 mm version of this weapon is fed from 35-round magazines. It is also compatible with 50-round box magazines, of the Galil ARM light machine gun. The 7.62x51 mm version uses 25-round magazines. The 5.56-mm version uses curved magazines, while the 7.62-mm version uses straight box magazines.

This assault rifle is fitted with a side-folding aluminum stock. It is a clone of the FN FALParatrooper stock. Early production versions had a wooden foregrip. Later models were fitted with a polymer one.

The weapon has diopter-type sights. Sighting range is 500 meters. It can also mount scopes or night vision sights.

The Galil has a bayonet lug. This assault rifle is capable of launching riffle grenades. For this role a special 12-round magazine with blank cartridges is used.

This assault rifle became a base for a whole family of infantry weapons.



Variants



Galil AR (Assault Rifle) is a baseline assault rifle.

Galil SAR (Short Assault Rifle) is a version with a shorter barrel. It is also known as Glilon.

Galil ARM is a light machine gun version. It comes with a bipod and carrying handle. It is fed from 50-round capacity box magazines, but can also use 35-round magazines of the Galil AR and SAR.

Galil MAR (Micro Assault Rifle) or Micro Galil, is a compact assault rifle. This weapon has updated design and a number of new features. One of them is a 3-round burst firing mode.

Galatz is a designated marksman rifle. The name is a contraction of "Galil Tzalafim", meaning "Galil Sniper" (another common name for this weapon). It has a heavy match-grade barrel. It accepts the same 12- or 25-round magazines of the Galil AR. It is available chambered in 5.56x45 mm NATO, and 7.62x51 mm NATO. This weapon was adopted by the IDF in 1983.

Galil ACE assault rifle is a new-generation version of the Galil. It is made using new materials. This weapon is lighter and more accurate than the original Galil. It is available chambered in 5.56x45 mm NATO, 7.62x51 mm NATO and 7.62x39 mm ammunition.

Bernardelli VB-STR and VB-SR are Italian clones of the Galil. The VB-SR has a different magazine well and accepts all standard NATO (M16-type) magazines.

Vektor R4 is a South African license-produced version of the Galil ARM light machine gun.

Golani is a civilian version, produced in the USA.








Galil Assault Rifle | Military-Today.com

It's a fine rifle but is surprisingly not as universally used by Israel of all places, as one would think. Even today it is more common to see Israeli soldiers carrying an M-16 type weapon than a Galil.

There is also another RSA model - R5 in addition to R4. Both are 5.56mm.

Works perfect all the time in all condition.

Desertfalcon said:

It's a fine rifle but is surprisingly not as universally used by Israel of all places, as one would think. Even today it is more common to see Israeli soldiers carrying an M-16 type weapon than a Galil.

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Tavor is the gun of choice today, altho M16 is still widely used cause funding issues

DavidSling said:

Tavor is the gun of choice today

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X95, actually, formerly known as Micro-Tavor.

Which of its drawbacks led to its replacement with m,16 and tavour

denel said:

There is also another RSA model - R5 in addition to R4. Both are 5.56mm.

Works perfect all the time in all condition.

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Denel, is there a 762 nato version of the r5/4/6? Would be an excellent platform for infantry wide use. If Zastava could modernize the m77 a bit more that would be a very good solution as well.

It works perfectly, just watch, the MG42 are S***T just like yours, we are aquiring MG4 and MG5.
Dont judge, all ammo are real, any mistake will be a casualty, the Portuguese way.
"Olha a linha", means "Hold the line", when we are firing real ammo, running in front of a firing line means death.

pzfz said:

Denel, is there a 762 nato version of the r5/4/6? Would be an excellent platform for infantry wide use. If Zastava could modernize the m77 a bit more that would be a very good solution as well.

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No, there is only 5.56 version. we abandoned 7.62mm. the galil does have a version in 7.62. R4 is truly indestructible and as easy to maintain and versatile as AK from which it draws most of the design.

aren't r4/galil both finnish derivatives? which is in turn an ak derivative. I continue to believe that ak derivatives are the best for general infantry. Does the SADF use old fals as dmrs?

pzfz said:

aren't r4/galil both finnish derivatives? which is in turn an ak derivative. I continue to believe that ak derivatives are the best for general infantry. Does the SADF use old fals as dmrs?

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Nope. Finnish was an independent tracked developments. FN was used long time ago; i have not seen it around in the past 25yrs now. there is a dmrs version of r4.