Article

2020-01-31 Science

Pentagon reveals F-35 Lightning's guns don't shoot straight and are cracking in scathing report that demands Lockheed Martin fix 873 flaws on $100million stealth fighter jet

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Posted by Skidmark 2020-01-31 00:00|| || Front Page|| [8 views ] Top

#1 Redesign the F-35 to carry the 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger Gatling-type autocannon?

Posted by Glenmore 2020-01-31 02:09|| 2020-01-31 02:09|| Front Page Top

#2 According to a 7 July 2011 Aviation Week article, the United States has agreed to allow Israeli F-35s to be rewired so that Israeli electronic warfare systems can be installed on the aircraft

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2020-01-31 02:09|| 2020-01-31 02:09|| Front Page Top

#3 "Redesign the F-35 to carry the 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger Gatling-type autocannon?"

do you know how that useless thing weights?

Posted by Thorong Grundy1520 2020-01-31 03:43|| 2020-01-31 03:43|| Front Page Top

#4 ...Here's the problem:

1) All three versions of the -35 were overweight. The original plan was to have the old reliable M61A1 Vulcan, but it weighed too much.

2) So, the first thing they did was suggest eliminating the gun completely. THAT was a non-starter; pilots and Naval/Marine Aviators want that weapon of last resort.

3. So we developed the GAU-12 Equalizer 25mm for the -35. It's actually a very good weapon, but it was still kinda heavy, so somebody decided that they would save weight on the mountings and delete it entirely from the USMC -35B, replacing it with a pod bolted to the airframe as needed.

4) The GAU-12 is a damned powerful weapon, and it's cracking the mounts on the A and C. The USMC discovered that as soon as you pulled the trigger, it tried to twist the pod right off the pylon. This, by the way, was what happened when we tried 20mm pods on F-4s fifty years ago and a 30mm pod on the stillborn F/A-16 of the late 80s. However, for some reason somebody thought that THIS time,it would work.

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2020-01-31 06:37|| 2020-01-31 06:37|| Front Page Top

#5 Thx, Mike

Posted by Frank G 2020-01-31 06:42|| 2020-01-31 06:42|| Front Page Top

#6 Sounds like socialism..."this time it will work."

Posted by AlanC 2020-01-31 08:12|| 2020-01-31 08:12|| Front Page Top

#7 Thanks #4 Mike for the info...

So, the iron laws of metallurgy and momentum will be ignored this time because we have computer simulations and really snazzy PowerPoint presentations. *Sigh*

Posted by magpie 2020-01-31 13:38|| 2020-01-31 13:38|| Front Page Top

#8 And because the mountings don't have mass it actually aggravates the vibration/resonance problems when the recoil kicks in.

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2020-01-31 13:48|| 2020-01-31 13:48|| Front Page Top

#9 I'm guessing, BTW.

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2020-01-31 13:49|| 2020-01-31 13:49|| Front Page Top

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