F-35 Gatling Gun to be Operational in 2017

By Kris Osborn

The Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter team of weapons developers is planning for the aircraft’s 25mm Gatling gun to be operataional this year, officials said

The weapon has been in development for several years and was successfully test fired on Oct. 30, 2015 in California.

“This milestone was the first in a series of test flights to functionally evaluate the in-flight operation of the F-35A’s internal 25mm gun throughout its employment envelope,” a Pentagon statement said at the time.

The first phase of test execution consisted of 13 ground gunfire events over the course of three months to verify the integration of the gun into the F-35A, the JSF office said.

More recent activities have included a second phase of testing aimed at further integrating the gun into the airframe during various flight conditions. 

The Gatling gun will bring a substantial technology to the multi-role fighter platform, as it will better enable the aircraft to perform air-to-air attacks and close-air support missions to troops on the ground.

Called the Gun Airborne Unit, or GAU-22/A, the weapon is engineered into the aircraft in such a manner as to maintain the platform’s stealth configuration.