IMBEL MD1A
- Category
- Assault Rifle
- Barrel
- 464 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.20 kg
- Introduced
- 1983
About
What it is, and why it matters
The IMBEL MD1A is a Brazilian gas-operated, selective-fire assault rifle chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO, developed by IMBEL at the Fabrica de Itajuba prototype workshop around 1983. Designated Fz 5,56 IMBEL MD1, it retained the fixed synthetic stock and trigger group of the FAL that IMBEL built under licence, but replaced the FAL's tilting breechblock with a gas piston driving a rotary bolt with multiple locking lugs. It fed from a proprietary 20-round magazine and featured a perforated jacket enclosing the gas tube and part of its 464 mm barrel. Certified in April 1989 and cleared for production as the M989, it was never formally adopted, with only small evaluation batches produced.
Born from IMBEL's early-1980s effort to evolve its licence-built FN FAL into a lighter 5.56mm rifle, the MD1 was the first step in a long Brazilian small-arms development line that would eventually lead to the MD-97 and the modern IA2 service rifle.
First in IMBEL's MD family of 5.56mm FAL-derived rifles, succeeded by the STANAG-magazine MD-2/MD-3 and later MD-97 series. Cyclic rate is roughly 700 rounds per minute; loaded weight of about 4.9 kg includes a 20-round magazine and optional folding bipod.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Industria de Material Belico do Brasil
- Category
- Assault Rifle
- Country
- Brazil
- Status
- Prototype
- Produced
- 1983
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 464 mm
- Overall length
- 995 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.20 kg
- Weight, loaded
- 4.90 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 20
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Polymer
- Finish
- Phosphate
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 940 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 1767 J
- 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.
Select fire
Rotary bolt
Perforated handguard
Fixed synthetic stock
Optional folding bipod
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 | 4.20 kg | 3.60 kg | Heavier than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 156 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 995 mm | 920 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 157 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 464 mm | 449 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 158 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 20 | 30 | Among the smallest capacities |
Answers
Questions about the IMBEL MD1A
How much does the IMBEL MD1A weigh?
The IMBEL MD1A weighs 4.20 kg (9.26 lb) empty and 4.90 kg (10.80 lb) loaded.
What caliber is the IMBEL MD1A?
The IMBEL MD1A is chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO.
How many rounds does the IMBEL MD1A hold?
The IMBEL MD1A holds 20 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the IMBEL MD1A?
The IMBEL MD1A is 995 mm (39.2 in) long overall, with a 464 mm (18.3 in) barrel.
Who makes the IMBEL MD1A?
The IMBEL MD1A is made by Industria de Material Belico do Brasil (Brazil). It was designed by IMBEL (Fabrica de Itajuba).
When was the IMBEL MD1A introduced?
The IMBEL MD1A was introduced in 1983.
How does the IMBEL MD1A operate?
The IMBEL MD1A 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
- Brazilian Army
- Brazil
Provenance
Confidence in this record
60%
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/imbel-md1a' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "imbel-md1a", "name": "IMBEL MD1A", "manufacturer": { "id": "imbel", "name": "Industria de Material Belico do Brasil", "countryCode": "BR", "foundedYear": 1811, "website": "https://www.imbel.gov.br", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:45", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:45", "version": "abd830829db0a0869f83782ce7bd8fbb8e86959a21412dd0f411dd4237334163" }, "category": { "id": "assault-rifle", "name": "Assault Rifle", "description": "Selective-fire rifles chambered in intermediate cartridges" }, "country_of_origin": "BR", "year_introduced": 1983, "barrel_length_mm": 464, "weight_empty_g": 4200, "action_type": "gas_operated"}