IMI GALIL AND ITS DESIGN DETAILS AND ITS VARIANTS WITH FULL DETAILS

The Galil is a family of Israeli small arms designed by Yisrael Galil and Yaacov Lior in the late 1960s and produced by Israel Military Industries (IMI) (IMI privatized their small arms division, now called IWI) of Ramat HaSharon. The rifle design borrows heavily from the RK-62 and has a modified gas diversion system similar to the RK-62 to reduce the recoil of the rifle making it easier to fire especially in automatic mode. The weapon system consists of a line chambered for the intermediate 5.56×45mm NATO caliber with either the M193 or SS109 ball cartridge and several models designed for use with the 7.62×51mm NATO rifle round. It is named after one of its inventors, Yisrael Galil. The Galil series of weapons is in use with military and police forces in over 25 countries. There are four basic configurations of the Galil: the standard-length rifle, a carbine variant known as the SAR, a compact MAR version, and an ARM light machine gun. A modernized version of the Galil is currently in production in multiple calibers, called the Galil ACE. Design details Operating mechanism The Galil series of rifles are selective fire weapons operated by a Kalashnikov-pattern gas-driven piston system with no regulator. The weapon is locked with a rotary bolt with two locking lugs that lock into recesses milled into the receiver. When fired, a portion of the propellant gases are evacuated into the gas cylinder through a 1.8 mm (0.07 in) port, drilled at a 30° angle in the barrel, and a channel in the gas block. The high-pressure gases drive the piston rod (which is attached to the bolt carrier) rearward. During this rearward movement, a cam slot machined into the bolt carrier engages a cam pin on the bolt and rotates the bolt, unlocking the action. The arrangement of parts on the bolt carrier assembly provides for a degree of free travel, allowing gas pressure in the barrel to drop to a safe level before unlocking. To the immediate rear of the chrome-plated piston head is a notched ring which provides a reduced bearing surface and alleviates excess gas build-up. As the bolt carrier travels back, it compresses the return spring guided in a hollowed section of the bolt carrier and the return energy contained in the spring drives the moving assembly back forward, stripping a new round from the magazine and locking the action. The cocking handle is attached to the bolt carrier on the right side of the receiver and reciprocates with each shot; the handle is bent upwards allowing for operation with the left hand while the shooting hand remains on the pistol grip. The ejection of spent cases from the Galil is sometimes a violent action. Cases can be dented by the ejector and be thrown as much as 40 ft away from the rifle in some cases, depending on position. Variants AR The standard rifle version which is fitted with a high-impact plastic handguard and pistol grip, a side-folding (folds to the right side) tubular metal skeleton stock as fitted to all variants except the Galil Sniper. SAR The SAR carbine variant, generally known as Glilon, is configured with a shorter barrel (332 mm, 13.07in). Due to the shorter barrel a corresponding shorter piston and gas tube as well as a unique gas block are found on the SAR. The SAR variant saw the longest service life in the IDF, being in use with the Armored Corps until the mid 2000s. ARM The ARM light machine gun variant is additionally equipped with a carrying handle, folding bipod and a larger wooden handguard. The wooden handguard remains cooler during sustained automatic fire and has grooves for bipod storage. When folded, the bipod's legs form a speed chute for rapid magazine insertion; the bipod will form a wire cutter and the rear handguard ferrule, which retains the bipod legs, can be used to open bottles by design, in order to prevent soldiers using magazine lips for this purpose which damaged them. MAR The most recent addition to the Galil family of weapons is the MAR compact carbine, which retains the internal features of the original Galil with a completely new frame, operating system and an even shorter barrel. Introduced to the public at the 2nd International Defence Industry Exhibition in Poland in 1994, the weapon was developed for use with the army and police special units, vehicle crews, army staff, special operations personnel and airborne infantry. The MAR, or the Micro Galil, is a reduced-size version of the Galil SAR (706 mm stock extended / 465 mm folded), weighing 2.98 kg (6.57 pounds) empty. Compared to the original carbine, the MAR has a shortened barrel (210 mm), receiver, piston, gas tube and foregrip. The firearm is fed from a 35-round steel magazine which can be clipped together to increase reload speed. The MAR has the same rate of fire (630-750 rounds/min) as other 5.56mm Galil models. An optional magazine adapter inserted inside the magazine well allows the use of standard 20- and 30-round M16 magazines. The lever safety and fire selector (located on both sides of the receiver) has four settings: "S"—weapon is safe, "A"—automatic fire, "B"—3-round burst, "R"—semi-automatic mode. The barrel has a multifunction muzzle device. The MAR is equipped with a folding tubular aluminum stock and a flip aperture sight with two settings: 0–300 m and beyond 300 m. The MAR can also be equipped with a night vision device (attached through an adapter mounted to the left side of the receiver), a daytime optical sight (mounted via a receiver cover adapter), low-light sights with tritium illuminated dots, a vertical forward grip with integrated laser pointer, silencer and a nylon sling. Upon request, the weapon can be supplied with a bolt catch, plastic magazines weighing 0.164 kg or an enlarged trigger guard for use with gloves. The MAR has undergone several changes over time, and it is worth noting that it may also be found with a polymer-coated aluminum stock or an all-polymer stock. The Model 699 is available with a 267 mm barrel and optional left-side charging handle which is welded onto the left side of the bolt carrier and protrudes through a slot cut in the receiver cover that is covered by a spring-loaded cover while the bolt carrier is forward. 7.62mm variants. The 7.62mm Galil is derived from the 5.56mm base version. The rifle retains the general design layout and method of operation of the 5.56mm variant. In 7.62mm the Galil is available in several different configurations, including a SAR carbine, full-size AR rifle and ARM light machine gun. These weapons are fed from 25-round box magazines (previously 20-rounds). The barrel has four right-hand grooves with a 305 mm (1:12 in) rifling twist rate. Galatz The 7.62mm Galil Sniper (Galil Tzalafim, or "Galatz") is a derivative of the ARM that is used in conjunction with high-quality 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition for consistent accuracy. The precision rifle is a semi-automatic-only rifle with a similar operating system to other Galil variants, but optimised for accuracy. The rifle is fed from a 25-round box magazine. It uses a heavy-profile match barrel that is heavier than that used on other variants. It is fitted with a multi-functional muzzle device, which acts as both a flash suppressor and a muzzle brake. It can be replaced with a sound suppressor, which requires the use of subsonic ammunition for maximum effectiveness. The weapon was modified with a two-stage trigger mechanism with an adjustable pull force, a wooden buttstock that folds to the right side of the weapon and a heavy-duty bipod, mounted to the forward base of the receiver housing that folds beneath the handguard when not in use. The buttstock is fully adjustable in length and height and features a variable-height cheek riser. The rifle comes with mechanical iron sights and an adapter used to mount a telescopic day sight (Nimrod 6×40) or a night sight. The mount is quick-detachable and capable of retaining zero after remounting. The precision rifle is stored in a rugged transport case that comes with an optical sight, mount, filters, two slings (for carrying and firing) and a cleaning kit. Recent production models feature synthetic plastic furniture and a skeletonized metal stock. The Galatz was first introduced in 1983. The SR-99 is a modernized version of the Galatz featuring an adjustable skeleton stock instead of a wooden stock, synthetic handguard, and a synthetic pistol grip. It is somewhat less rugged, but more ergonomic. The Galatz is made under license by Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems. Other variants:- Magal: A law enforcement carbine variant of the Galil MAR chambered in .30 Carbine. It uses the same 15- and 30-round magazines as the M1 Carbine. Marksman Assault Rifle Mark 1: 5.56mm designated marksman rifle introduced in 1996. Has a scope and padded stock. Golani: A civilian version with a new-production milled semi-automatic receiver built in the United States. All other components are original IMI Galil production parts. Galil ACE: The new generation of the Galil rifle. It has three versions (Micro, SAR and AR) chambered for 5.56mm NATO, 7.62mm Soviet M43 and 7.62mm NATO. It has five picatinny rails for mounting optical devices and accessories, and is lighter and more accurate than past generation Galils. It can be stripped without any tools. South African variants The Vektor R4 is a South African variant of the Galil ARM assault rifle with several modifications; notably, both the stock and magazine are made of a high-strength polymer and the stock was lengthened, adapting the weapon for the average South African soldier.The South African Navy, South African Air Force and South African Police Service adopted a short carbine version of the 5.56mm Galil SAR, which was license-manufactured as the R5. The R5, when compared to the larger R4, has a barrel that is 130 millimeters (5.1 in) shorter, together with a shorter gas system and handguard. It also lacks a bipod, and the flash hider does not support rifle grenades. In the 1990s, an even more compact personal defence weapon variant of the R5 was developed for armored vehicle crews, designated the R6, which has a further reduced barrel and a shortened gas cylinder and piston assembly. Lyttleton Ingenieurs Werke (LIW)/Denel Land Systems (DLS) also introduced a line of semi-automatic variants of the R4, R5 and R6 called the LM4, LM5 and LM6 respectively, built for civilian and law enforcement users.