The Global Ordnance Monolith Rifle

Global Ordnance is known for importing cool firearms like the Grand Power Stribog and Arex pistols.

But for something a little more special, Global Ordnance has partnered with Foxtrot Mike to bring a very interesting lightweight rifle concept called the Monolith to market. Its name specifically refers to the nature of its unique upper receiver. On the Global Ordnance Monolith, the upper receiver, receiver extension, barrel, gas block,and muzzle brake are all machined from the same block of 41V50 steel. The end result is a solid upper receiver that’s reminiscent of the AR-15 without technically being an AR-15.

Global Ordnance loaned us a Monolith A2 rifle with a 16.1-inch barrel for testing and evaluation. (The Monolith is also available with that goldilocks 12.5-inch barrel too).

Global Ordnance Monolith A2 Features

At first glance, the Global Ordnance Monolith A2, looks like a cross between the AR-15 and the FN SCAR platform. The latter perception comes from the ACR-style “Ugg Boot” folding stock, which I really like. The stock telescopes and has an adjustable cheek piece. It also folds easily and locks to the left. Moreover, the Monolith design allows for the rifle to be fired with the stock folded. Finally, the Monolith’s stock is integral to the lower receiver and doesn’t feel like some cheap attachment. The Monolith A2 measures only 24.5 inches long with the stock folded. A nice B5 Systems P-23 pistol grip comes standard, but the Monolith will accept any AR-15 pattern grip.

The folding stock obviously implies that this rifle possesses an internal recoil spring–as opposed to a buffer tube. The Monolith’s recoil spring runs from the gas key and is connected by a steel guide rod. It’s still a direct-impingement system, except that it uses a much shorter bolt carrier. Anyone familiar with a standard AR-15 will recognize the cam pin and cotter pin holding the firing pin in place. The Monolith’s bolt is a little heavier, but it functions similarly by rotating to lock. The mid-length gas system the Monolith uses has shown itself to be very reliable to date.

This rifle is equipped with a slim-profile barrel that’s light but strong thanks to its specific monolithic construction. Like any modern 5.56 mm rifle’s barrel this one also has a 1:7 twist rate to properly stabilize heavier bullets. The business end of the rifle includes a muzzle brake that doubles as a Dead Air Keymo mount. Handguard-wise, the Monolith is outfitted with M-LOK accessory slots and its design securely mates to the single piece upper receiver. Naturally, the top part of the handguard includes the requisite span of Picatinny rail mounting surface for accessories and easy optics-mounting. Finally, each Monolith ships with one steel Global Ordnance 5.56 mm magazine.

Monolith Manual Of Arms & Controls

The Monolith’s lower receiver is quite similar to that of a “nice” AR-15, with everything ambidextrous. Its safety lever is tactile and lies just where you expect with either hand; its magazine release is the same. Although the button is bigger than the standard AR-15 mag catch, a detail I like. Similarly, the dual-sided bolt catch is also oversized and easy to reach.

One fun feature is that hitting the open ejection port dust cover activates the bolt release on the right side–Very cool!

I measured the Monolith’s straight trigger, and the one on my rifle broke at about 5.5 lbs. Even with a little grit, I found it to function decently. However, upgrading triggers on Monolith rifles is quite convenient because they accept any standard AR-15 trigger group. The side-mounted, non-reciprocating charging handle is reversible. It also folds forward to stay out of the way.

Cocking the Monolith requires some effort. Its action spring is stiff, requiring some effort to ensure you pull it all the way back. If you’re not careful, it can be easy to short-stroke the Monolith’s action spring. That can cause a failure to feed. Ultimately, I recommend locking the bolt to the rear before loading when possible–for ease and convenience. I found that the Monolith’s enhanced bolt catch is helpful here.

My normal C-clamp grip placed my off-hand just forward of the charging handle. Prior to adjusting the stock, my hand occasionally nudged the handle when the rifle recoiled. I didn’t notice this until I got a couple failures to load. Through trial-and-error I ended up re-adjusting my stance and fixed the length of pull again. I ultimately eliminated the problem by moving my off-hand a little further forward; no more failures to feed.

Global Ordnance Monolith On The Range

The Monolith is quite the light and handy carbine. At 5-pounds, 10-oz, it’s noticeably lighter than any AR-15 of similar size I have.

I was curious about its recoil impulse given it had no buffer tube or spring and because it was lighter than the typical AR-15. In reality, there was nothing to complain with regards to its actual recoil impulse.

The Monolith’s handiness became readily apparent while shooting between target arrays and transitioning. Bringing it to your shoulder was quite smooth. The controls were very responsive and mag changes were a breeze, even for my co-tester who shoots left-handed. He really liked being able to drop the bolt by hitting the ejection port cover. The Global Ordnance steel mag worked fine, and the rifle accepted our polymer Lancer and P-Mags just as easily.

For optics, I mounted Meprolight M22 Pro Reflex Sight and a Meprolight MMX4 Magnifier; I zeroed this Meprolight at 50 yards. Given the versatility of a 50 yard 5.56 mm zero, it enabled us to run drills at 10 yards, 25 yards and reach out as far as 125 yards easily. (This range is capped at 125 yards).

Likes & Dislikes

I like the Monolith.

Its design makes this rifle different and cool, for one thing. More importantly, I love that this rifle is completely ambidextrous. I really appreciate its light weight as well. Finally, its folding stock really makes the Global Ordnance Monolith versatile in terms of storage and transport.

As previously mentioned, the Monolith’s charging handle can be a bit difficult. It’s not a dealbreaker for me, though the Monolith may not be ideal for shooters that lack enough upper body strength to charge it.

Muzzle-device wise, the integral Dead Air Keymo brake limits my options. I’d rather see a threaded muzzle. Global Ordnance could still include it while giving customers more flexibility.

Those are my only two concerns about the Monolith. Overall, I think the Monolith is a great little rifle that won’t just sit in my safe. It’s not an AR-15, but it’s close enough that my skill sets transfer and I can run nearly identically. I also like that there’s some crossover parts commonality with AR-15 triggers, safety switches, firing pins, and bolt carrier cotter pins. Global Ordnance and Foxtrot Mike did a good job with the Monolith overall.