The F-35A successfully fired the GAU-22/A 25mm Gun system for the first time while in flight on Oct. 30. The flight trials by the AF-2...
The F-35A successfully fired the GAU-22/A 25mm Gun system for the first time while in flight on Oct. 30.
The flight trials by the AF-2 aircraft, follows the successful ground gun firing test at the Edwards Gun Harmonization range.
Maj. Charles Trickey, a 461st Flight Test Squadron F-35 experimental test pilot, was in the cockpit, and fired one burst of 30 rounds and two 60-round bursts at 20,000 feet. At full rate, it can fire 3,000 rounds per minute.
Unlike the Marine Corps and Navy variants in which the gun is mounted in a external pod, the GAU-22/A is integrated internally to the U.S. Air Force F-35A left wing to reduce radar signatures. The gun will be kept behind closed doors until the trigger is engaged.
According to sources, the first firing was not aimed at any target, but the goal was only to make sure the gun functions properly in flight. When the pilot is ready to fire, a complex system of doors exposes the muzzle and allows for ventilation. Keeping the gun hidden behind closed doors until the trigger is pulled allows the aircraft to remain in stealth.
In upcoming sorties the pilot will expand the envelope by performing 7G turns, 3G turns, flying at Mach 1.44, and reaching 40,000 feet. They will also do a burst fire to empty all 181 rounds. Some of the tests will be done at China Lake, but most of the remaining flights will be done over the Sea Test Range at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California.
The GAU-22/A is a four-barrel Gatling gun that fires 25 millimeter rounds and uses a 25 mm shell, which is significantly more powerful than what have been used to in legacy aircraft, like the F-16 the F-15E, F-15C - all those aircraft use a 20mm shell.
At the end of the program's system development and demonstration phase in 2017, the F-35 will have an operational gun.
AF-2, is a highly modified F-35 flight sciences aircraft, that had underwent four months of instrumentation modifications and had a line production gun installed for this project.
United States plans to buy around 2500 of these 5th generation single engined single seat stealth aircraft to replace its legacy fighter jet fleet. The F-35A is scheduled to enter service in third quarter of 2016.
More than 160 production F-35s have been delivered to customers and have flown more than 42,700 flight hours, fleet-wide.
