Galil ACE 23
- Category
- Assault Rifle
- Barrel
- 463 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.60 kg
- Introduced
- 2008
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Galil ACE 23 is a gas-operated, selective-fire assault rifle developed by Israel Weapon Industries as the full-length 5.56x45mm NATO member of the Galil ACE family. Introduced in 2008, it modernizes the original IMI Galil design with a long-stroke gas piston and rotating bolt, a lightweight polymer lower, ambidextrous controls, a side-folding stock, and an integral Picatinny rail. The ACE 23 uses an 18-inch (463 mm) cold-hammer-forged, chrome-lined barrel and feeds from NATO-pattern box magazines, giving it the longest barrel and best ballistic performance of the 5.56mm ACE variants.
The Galil ACE is the direct descendant of the IMI Galil, which Israeli designer Yisrael Galili based on the Finnish Valmet RK 62, itself a refinement of the Kalashnikov action. The ACE modernized that lineage with lighter materials and Western rail interfaces while retaining the rugged long-stroke piston heart.
The ACE 23 is the 18-inch-barrel rifle in the 5.56mm line, sitting above the shorter ACE 21 and ACE 22 carbines. Galil ACE rifles are license-produced in several countries, including Colombia (Indumil) and Vietnam (Z111 Factory).
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Israel Weapon Industries
- Category
- Assault Rifle
- Country
- Israel
- Status
- In production
- Produced
- 2008
- Variant of
- Rifle
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 463 mm
- Overall length
- 976 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.60 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 30
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Polymer
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Polymer
- Finish
- Phosphate
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 915 m/s
- Effective range
- 500 m
- Rate of fire
- 700 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Long stroke gas piston
Rotating bolt
Side folding stock
Picatinny rail
Ambidextrous controls
Chrome lined barrel
Cold hammer forged barrel
Tritium night sights
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 158 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 3.60 kg | 3.60 kg | Near the median |
| Overall lengthAmong 156 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 976 mm | 920 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 157 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 463 mm | 449 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 158 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 30 | 30 | Near the median |
Answers
Questions about the Galil ACE 23
How much does the Galil ACE 23 weigh?
The Galil ACE 23 weighs 3.60 kg (7.94 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Galil ACE 23?
The Galil ACE 23 is chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO.
How many rounds does the Galil ACE 23 hold?
The Galil ACE 23 holds 30 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Galil ACE 23?
The Galil ACE 23 is 976 mm (38.4 in) long overall, with a 463 mm (18.2 in) barrel.
Who makes the Galil ACE 23?
The Galil ACE 23 is made by Israel Weapon Industries (Israel). It was designed by Israel Weapon Industries.
When was the Galil ACE 23 introduced?
The Galil ACE 23 was introduced in 2008.
How does the Galil ACE 23 operate?
The Galil ACE 23 uses a gas operated action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Chilean Army
- 2014
- Colombian Armed Forces
- Colombia
- Vietnam People's Army
- Vietnam
Provenance
Confidence in this record
82%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/galil-ace-23' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "galil-ace-23", "name": "Galil ACE 23", "manufacturer": { "id": "iwi", "name": "Israel Weapon Industries", "countryCode": "IL", "foundedYear": 1933, "website": "https://iwi.net", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:49", "version": "99400997db16ab67d64d5ef07850d5523b1c5564f57f018fb6990dfbddc6da12" }, "category": { "id": "assault-rifle", "name": "Assault Rifle", "description": "Selective-fire rifles chambered in intermediate cartridges" }, "country_of_origin": "IL", "year_introduced": 2008, "barrel_length_mm": 463, "weight_empty_g": 3600, "action_type": "gas_operated"}