The Air Force variant of the Joint Strike Fighter
fired 181 rounds from its four-barrel, 25-mm Gatling gun this month in a ground
test at Edwards AFB, Calif., the Joint Strike Fighter program office announced
Aug. 20. Ground testing
started June 9, using a production version of the gun and a target practice
round, and is expected to be complete this month. Airborne gun testing will
begin in late September, and the gun will
be operational by the end of the system development and
demonstration phase in 2017, according to the program office. The gun is
embedded in the left wing of the F-35A and will allow pilots to strafe targets
on the ground or in the air. But because the F-35 is a stealth aircraft, the
gun must be hidden behind a door until the trigger is engaged. Testing is meant
to certify that the door opens properly and that the gun can spin up and down
correctly. The Marine Corps
declared initial operational capability on its version of the F-35 on July 31;
the Air Force expects to declare IOC next fall. (Watch a
video of the test.)
