US officials announced that the GAU-22/A gun on the F-35A fighter has been improved after many years of overcoming hardware and software problems.
“After working with the US Air Force and partners in the defense industry, we can declare that the GAU-22/A gun has been improved and effective. We will continue to perfect it to maximize combat effectiveness," Russ Goemaere, spokesman for the Pentagon's F-35 Program Office (JPO), said last weekend.
The GAU-22/A rotating barrel gun is designed to help the F-35 destroy targets at close range, which is not considered a combat advantage of this stealth fighter. GAU-22/A has a fire rate of up to 3.300 rounds per minute, the bullet's muzzle velocity is about more than one km/s.
Ground testing of the F-22A's GAU-35/A cannon in 2015. Video: Lockheed Martin
The F-35A is the only version that installs the GAU-22/A cannon in the body to ensure stealth. The muzzle cover only opens when firing and immediately closes when the cannon stops firing. The cannon is equipped with 180 bullets, enough to fire continuously for 3 seconds.
Meanwhile, the F-35B/C series must use a separate gun pedestal mounted under the belly, affecting the aerodynamic characteristics and stealth capabilities of the aircraft, but can carry 220 rounds of ammunition.
The GAU-22/A cannon appeared on the first F-35 fighters shipped, but could only be used since the mid-2010s with the Block 3F software upgrade package. Test firing in 2016 showed a series of problems with the pilot's helmet display system, such as symbols obscuring the target and an unstable line of sight.
A series of software update packages have fixed this situation. However, the JPO in 2020 continued to discover that the gun mount in the F-35A body was misaligned. This caused the accuracy of the GAU-22/A to be rated as "unacceptable" and the firing also cracked the fuselage of the aircraft near the tip of the gun barrel.
It is unclear whether these problems have been completely resolved or not. A series of hull cracks related to the GAU-22/A cannon on the F-35A have been recorded in recent years, but do not seem to affect the accuracy of this cannon.
The US F-35A fighter first test-fired the GAU-22/A cannon while flying in 2015. Photo: JPO
Lockheed Martin Corporation began developing the F-35 fighter in 1995, the F-35A variant first took off in 2006. The project is worth $1.500 billion, one of the most expensive weapons programs in the world. American history, but encountered a series of problems and technical problems.
The Pentagon in mid-March approved the manufacturing process with the manufacturer's maximum capacity, marking the end of a 3-year aircraft testing period.
The F-35A is a stealth fighter version developed for the US Air Force and allied countries. This is the smallest and lightest variant in the F-35 line, with much higher maneuverability than the marine F-35B and navy F-35C. Each F-35A has a factory price of about 80-90 million USD, depending on the production batch, not including weapons and accompanying spare parts.
Vu Anh (Follow War zone)
