Gunner Quinn
Global Ordnance (GO), a veteran owned business headquartered in Sarasota, Fla., has imported and distributed ammunition, firearms and support gear from around the world since 2013. After more than a year in development, Global Ordnance is ready to start shipping the Monolith semi-automatic carbine. This exclusive model is produced and licensed by Foxtrot Mike Products Inc. (FM Products), with Global Ordnance acting as the sole distributor.
The Monolith uses a bufferless recoil system that allows it to fire with the stock folded.
This model’s lightweight design and useful feature set were guided by the vision and direction of Sam Beatty, Global’s project manager, and the Global team working closely with FM to bring it to fruition. Despite some delays in getting this gun to market, it made a big splash at the 2024 SHOT Show in Las Vegas. Fortunately, I was able to get a hold of an early production Monolith 15A with the folding stock for a test drive.
The Global Ordnance team worked closely with FM Products to develop the Monolith carbine.
The Monolith is a direct-impingement, gas-operated semi-automatic rifle chambered in 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem. that is intended to be the next evolution of bufferless AR-pattern platforms. In place of a buffer tube, a recoil assembly consisting of a solid steel guide rod and two nested round-wire recoil springs are installed in the upper receiver, inside of the elevated optics rail, in order to support a modified bolt carrier group. This not only allows for a folding shoulder stock, but the gun can be safely fired with the stock in the folded position.
The combination KeyMo muzzle device is part of a one-piece barrel assembly.
The aircraft-grade aluminum flattop upper omits a forward-assist button but does have a removable polymer deflector block installed behind the ejection port. The traditional rear-mounted AR-style charging handle has been replaced with a non-reciprocating forward handle set into the top of the handguard. The folding charging handle is milled from aluminum and can be reversed from the left to the right side. The 13″ long free-floated, M-Lok slotted aluminum handguard sports a patented receiver-interlock feature for added stability.
The lower receiver is milled from a billet of 7075-T6 aluminum.
The Monolith name is derived from its unique monolithic barrel. It is machined from one piece of 41v50 ordnance-grade steel using a proprietary process. The barrel features seamlessly integrate the 1:7 twist bore, barrel extension, gas block and a milled-in Dead Air Silencers KeyMo combination muzzle brake and sound suppressor mount. The goal of including all of these features in a single component is to provide improved accuracy, reliability and suppressor concentricity. Because the muzzle device is integrated into the barrel, the overall length is a legal 16.1″ without the hassle and expense of pinning and welding the device in place.
The Swampfox Tomahawk II Low Power Variable Optic proved to be a great fit for this platform.
Before the barrel is installed, the upper receiver is heated so that, when it cools, the barrel and receiver are tightly fitted together. The barrel’s extension has a keying feature that locks it into the receiver so as to prevent any rotation when installing or removing sound suppressors. The gas port is angled at 45 degrees and paired with a specially designed free-flow gas tube. These modifications alter how the high-pressure gases move through the system to optimize the Monolith’s performance when a sound suppressor is installed.
The barrel’s extension has also been enlarged from AR-15 to AR-10 proportions. This oversizing makes it stronger, allows for all-steel feed ramps and accommodates an AR-10-size bolt configured for 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem. ammunition. This heavy duty bolt is further engineered to significantly reduce the failure points common to mil-spec AR-15 bolts. The nickel-boron-coated firing pin and the black-oxide-treated cam pin are both made from S7 tool steel for added durability. The 9310-alloy steel bolts and 4342-alloy steel bolt carriers are true vacuum hardened by Thermal Modification Technologies (TMT) and treated with a black oxide finish.
The AKB polymer folding stock has a two-postion cheek rest and seven-postion adjustments for length.
The lower receiver, with its clean-cut lines, textured magazine well and integrated trigger guard is milled from a billet of 7075-T6 aluminum and treated with a hardcoat anodized finish. All of the AR-pattern controls are ambidextrous, including the bolt catch, magazine release and safety selector switch. The stubby paddle of the right-side bolt catch release is cleverly designed to be actuated using the dustcover. Rather than flipping the cover up and out of the way in order to use it, just press down on the cover and the bolt will close.
This carbine ships with an AR-15 type single-stage fire control group with a straight, flat-faced trigger in place of the more common M4 style curved trigger. The trigger pull was a smooth and consistent 5 lbs., 7 ozs., which is suitable for a multi-purpose rifle like this one. Although this trigger certainly did not get in the way of a positive shooting experience, it wouldn’t be surprising if some folks choose to install an upgrade. The lower receiver is capped off with a removable textured polymer B5 Systems pistol grip that lines up nicely with the flat-faced trigger.
The Swampfox Rebel 45-degree offset aluminum mount can be installed to either the right or left side of an optics rail.
At first glance, the AKB polymer folding stock assembly appears to be similar to that of the FN SCAR. However, the Monolith has a simplified design. In place of the FN’s steel mounting plate, which is bolted to the receiver, half of the Monolith’s hinge is an integral extension of the aluminum lower receiver, taking place of the typical AR-15 buffer tube port. The rest of the hinge is a molded-in extension of the polymer stock. The result is fewer parts and less weight added to the gun. A release button, located on the right side of the stock, is pressed to release the hinge so that the stock can be folded to the left side of the receiver.
The Monolith is easily disassembled for routine cleaning.
This model’s seven-position stock is adjusted by pinching left- and right-side release buttons simultaneously. It provides a length of pull (LOP) between 11″ to 13.75″ at about 0.4″ increments. The rearward-canted cheek rest has two positions. When locked down, the front edge rests 0.15″ below the optics rail. When pulled rearwards, lifted up and then pressed forward again to lock it back into place, the front edge of the rest is elevated 0.35″ or, 0.20″ above the optics rail. When the stock is folded, it exposes a 4.75″ deep, 0.70″ diameter storage compartment with a rubber plug located below the cheek rest. This stock’s other features include left- and right-side QD sling ports along with a textured hard-rubber butt pad.
The Monolith arrived with one Global Ordnance 30-round steel magazine and two additional sets of recoil springs. One is a replacement for the standard weight set installed in the carbine when it arrives. The second set, with a red interior spring, is about 3 to 4 lbs. heavier than the standard one and intended for use with sound suppressors that generate higher levels of back pressure. When using flow-though type, or .30-cal., suppressors, it won’t be necessary to swap out the recoil springs.
The AR-10-size bolt had been designed for added strength and durability.
Overall, the Monolith’s fitting and craftsmanship is top notch. It makes a good impression right out of the box with its crisp lines and clean finishing. But what struck me most as I picked it up for the first time was the handy feel. It has a listed unloaded weight of just 5 lbs., 15 ozs. But according to a digital postal scale, the gun sent for this evaluation was 5 lbs., 13.4 ozs. before adding a magazine or optics. That makes it roughly 9.5 ozs. lighter than a typical M4-style carbine.
For the informal and formal testing, the Monolith was outfitted with two optics and mounting systems made by Swampfox. The primary magnified scope was the 1-4X 24 mm Tomahawk II Low Power Variable Optic (LPVO; #THK14241-BF; $389) attached to the carbine using a CNC-machined 7075-aluminum cantilever Freedom mount (#FCM-30-M; $124). This second-focal-plane scope is well suited for speed and precision with six different reticle illumination options. In this case I went with the BFO, or bright fiber optic, in blue, which proved to be crisp, clear and easy to see against dimly lit paper targets at 100 yards. Other features include a durable 6061-aluminum housing, fully multi-coated lenses, 12 illumination settings and 0.5-m.o.a. adjustment turrets.
This gas-impingement-operated semi-automatic cycled smoothly throughout the course of testing.
For close-quarters situations, Swampfox offers the aluminum Rebel 45 degree offset mount (#RO-DSM-1913; $65) sized for directly mounting RMR-footprint red-dot optics. In this instance it was used to support a 1X24 mm green dot Liberty II optic (#LBT2124-3G; $249). Featuring a 7075-T6-aluminum housing, 10 illumination levels and Shake N’ Wake automatic on/off functionality, its generously sized recessed window makes it an ideal fit in this role. Together the optic and the mount add just 3.3 ozs. to the gun’s weight.
The 30-round magazines used for the Monolith’s range test included the G.O. steel unit shipped with the gun, a Magpul PMAG, Mission First Tactical’s windowed and new translucent models, some discontinued aluminum Surefeed boxes and a bright red aluminum Duramag, just to keep things interesting.
This model proved to be reliable with a variety of 30-round magazine brands including steel, aluminum and polymer options.
At the shooting range, this carbine successfully fed, fired and ejected all of the ammunition tested from the various magazines used. The charging handle was a bit stiff at the beginning but smoothed out with use. The left-side magazine release button was also on the stiff side but worked as intended. The rest of the controls, including the flat-faced trigger, operated smoothly and cleanly with typical levels of effort.
The ammunition used for formal accuracy testing printed group averages between 0.99″ to 1.30” in size.
As mentioned earlier, Global Ordnance imports and distributes ammunition from overseas. Among their offerings are rifle cartridges made by Australian Munitions that are sold here is the U.S. under the ADI World Class brand. The rounds used for formal bench-rested five-shot group testing at 100 yards included two ADI .223 Rem. loads made with annealed brass cases. Both were topped with Sierra Bullets projectiles. One was the 55-grain Sierra Blitzking polymer tip and the other was the 69-grain Sierra Matchking hollow point boat tail. The third load tested at this distance was Hornady’s Black series load launching 75-grain hollow-point boat tail bullets. Here are the results:
The new Global Ordnance Monolith model 15A rifle offers intriguing updates to the 70-year-old AR-15 design. It manages to be simpler, stronger and lighter that competing models without neglecting the niceties like fully ambidextrous controls and a folding adjustable stock. Some traditionalists are going to frown on this model’s sacrifice of so much of its AR-15 modularity in order to attain its design goals. The only native components that can be easily traded out for aftermarket parts are the magazines, pistol grip and trigger. But after working with this model, and coming to appreciate its virtues, the only pieces that I might choose to swap are the magazine, pistol grip and possibly the trigger.
The best single five-shot group of 0.85” was fired using ADI World Class loads topped with Sierra bullets.
The Monolith is a handy carbine with a well-balanced, ready-to-use feature set with a suggested retail price of $1,235. For those who prefer to pick out their own folding stocks, the Monolith will be offered in the 15P model with a rear facing Picatinny rail integrated into its lower receiver. The company will also offer configurations in the near future outfitted with 16″ barrels that have 1/2×28 TPI threaded muzzles in order to support a variety of muzzle devices. For more information, visit globalordnance.com.
Global Ordnance Monolith 15A Specifications
Manufacturer: Global Ordnance
Model: Monolith 15A folding stock carbine
Action Type: direct-impingement, semi-automatic, centerfire rifle
Chambering: 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem
Barrel: 16.1″ 41v50 ordnance-grade steel; black nitride finish, integral Dead Air Silencers KeyMo muzzle device
Receiver: 7075-T6 aluminum; matte-black hardcoat anodized finish
Magazine: 30-round, detachable box, steel
Sights: none; Picatinny rail
Trigger: single-stage 5-lb., 7-oz. pull
Stock: folding, adjustable buttstock; B5 Systems pistol grip; ventilated aluminum handguard
Drop at Comb: adjustable
Drop at Heel: 0.6″
Overall Length: 24.5″ to 31.25″
Weight: 5-lbs. 13.4-oz.
Accessories: owner’s manual, one magazine, lock
MSRP: $1,235
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