Bring a few of these motherfuckers over to the valley of megiddo at the battle of armagaddeon you heathens Watch F-35 stealth fighter fire 3,000 bullets a minute from its devastating machine gun as US Air Force unveils awesome firepower of its new $98m jet Footage shows F-35 stealth jet unleashing 181 rounds in matter of seconds The four-barrel Gatling gun is embedded in the wing to keep stealth profile Test team hopes to launch first phase of airborne gun testing in the fall Highly-anticipated stealth jet has been plagued by production setbacks A video of America’s F-35A stealth jet unleashing almost 200 rounds in a matter of seconds has been released, as the latest phase in ground testing gets underway. Hailed as the most expensive weapon in history, the controversial stealth jet is undergoing rigorous testing at California’s Edwards Air Force Base. And the intimidating footage of its four-barrel, 25millimeter Gatling gun embedded in the plane’s left wing, shows that the jet can really pack a punch. +3 Sophisticated: Footage from ground testing of the F-35A stealth jet at Edwards Air Force Base in California, shows the awesome firepower of the four-barrel Gatling gun embedded in the left wing +3 'Flying computer': U.S. military leaders have extolled the virtues of the F-35 jets, which are intended to 'combine advanced stealth capabilities with fighter aircraft speed and agility' As the plane must also have a stealth profile, the Gatling gun - which can fire up to 3,000 shots per minute - must remain hidden until it is needed. It is kept hidden in the wing until the trigger is engaged. The test team, which includes members from the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, hopes to complete ground testing this month and launch airborne gun testing in the fall. The jet, designed by Lockheed Martin, will have an operational gun by the end of the program’s system development and demonstration phase in 2017. The first phase of the gun testing began on June 9, and the amount of munitions fired has been gradually increased, until the 181 rounds were fired on August 17. The ground tests were designed using software to replicate being in flight, using a production version of the GAU-22/A gun. The tests, using the target practice PGU-23/U which does not explode on impact, showed the gun’s ability to spin up and down correctly.
A-10 Thunderbolt, aka the Wart Hog fires 3900 rounds per minute of 30mm depleted uranium rounds and is loved by every ground pounder ever.
its also cheap and reliable and the entire fleet is already paid for. so naturally the air force is trying desperately to kill it off so they can spend more money on the f35
I thought the Senate had eliminated that fucker like 2 or 3 years ago. What the fuck is wrong with us?
no. they eliminated the godlike f22 which routinely destroys every other plane in air to air simulations
Yeah researching it now, it was designed to be air to ground combat. That really isn't what we want in our fighters though.
They fly them out of Destin Florida right now, and they are flying the F22s out of Pensacola if I am not mistake. (might be). The issues is to get everything they needed, they sacrificed so much so that each branch of the military could achieve their requirements. I am really not a huge fan of the single engine design as it could lead to failure of the aircraft simply with the single engine flaming out. A lot of people are not impressed with the aircraft and it is somewhat still a work in progress. From what I hear most of the software is not finished and is still being uploaded, but the recent write up from one of their test pilots was extremely critical of the flight capabilities against the F16. It will be interesting to see as this develops. Speaking of the F22, did they ever get the flight oxygen system figured out?
the F-35 is an unmititgated disaster. They tried to make a plane to do everything and as a result it doesn't do any single thing well. It was meant to be the F-16 to the F-22's F15, but they canceled the f22 and now they're trying to force the f-35 into an air superiority role that it simply cant handle. The f-35 is too heavy and too slow to ever be a good air superiority fighter. Its stealth system doesn't work in the rain. It's on a second complete redesign of its engine because the first 2 kept catching on fire. most of the software for the avionics/targeting systems etc doesn't work. It's too expensive to operate. It's not reliable. It can't provide close air support at nearly the level of an A-10. oh, and it's cost the american taxpayer over a trillion dollars. The F-35 is the publicly funded stadium of federal government programs. It's nothing more than glorified corporate welfare for the defense lobby.
Did you ever see the movie Pentagon Wars? Its a hilarious comedy about the development of the Bradley Fighting vehicle. They kept changing shit like give it a bigger gun oh but then tanks will shoot at it, so it needs more armor, oh well now its slow as shit, and can't carry anyone. Its hilarious and fairly accurate which is what sucks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pentagon_Wars
That's one hell of a cannon. Jones: That's the problem. Col. Robert Laurel Smith: What is? Jones: You go out on the battlefield with this pecker sticking out of your turret, and the enemy's going to unload on you with everything they got. Might as well put a big red bullseye on the side. Col. Robert Laurel Smith: But it's a troop carrier, not a tank. Jones: Do you want me to put a sign on it in fifty languages, "I am a troop carrier, not a tank, please don't shoot at me"?
F-35's haven't gotten the free ride that the Typhoons et al. got coming off its press release. I'm torn on the program right now. It sounds as though we're working to increase the internal AMRAAM load up to 6 and will be able to internally carry the LRASM if needed. The RCR and ECM power is to gawk over though. Waiting for 2017 to judge the program in its entirety.
I definitely know what AMRAAM, LRASM, RCR, and ECM stand for so this post was simple to comprehend, thanks.
ECM is erythema chronicum migrans, a skin rash. I think RCR is just a typo for RTR. Not sure about the other 2 but they may be lyrics from the classic American rock song Black Betty. HTH
A Mean Radical Asian Ate Minks Lasers Remain Astonishingly Simple Minded Ripened Coconut Remnants Everyday Christian Mingles
Lockheed Martin (F35) and Boeing (Osprey) have killed magnitudes more US servicemen than ISIS, Russia, and Ebola combined
Hey guys make it take off vertically too! The dumb marines generals want to use it to transport troops too with all the room it doesn't have!
bricktop i don't think the F-35 is supposed to be a replacement for the F-16. From someone on reddit, which is how i form all of my opinions: And more:
It's a piece of shit. It actually reminds me a lot of the B-17 vs the B-18 in the mid 1930s. B-17 was bigger, better, but way more expensive and obviously an offensive weapon. B-18 could barely fly but it was cheaper and more politically appropriate so the govt built a handful of 17s and a shit ton of 18s. None of the 18s ever saw combat because they were useless.
Which could never operate in Eastern Ukraine, over Taiwan, or anywhere else that is not a permissive environment. The F-35 will do the job at 90% but also be able to provide deep strike, offensive or defensive counter air, naval strike, etc. in a contested environment. The A-10 would be sitting at home.
No. It has no issues operating in rain. It hasn't had a dogfight yet. They are constantly expanding the (software controlled) flight control laws to keep it under control, but slowly allow it to turn faster, operate at higher angles of attack, etc. That's all that test was for, but dogfighting is dead anyway. In the age of HOBS (High Off BoreSight) missiles and helmet mounted cueing systems dogfighting is suicide. All any pilot has to do is look at a plane to designate it and pull the trigger. Even planes off to the sides, going the opposite direction, behind them, etc. Lots of crap info out there about a plane that is still being developed and tested. It's nowhere near a finished product but over the next couple years as it starts to participate in Red Flag exercises people will see that it's possible the best air to air fighter in the world, including the F-22.
The F35 wasn't designed to win dogfights, right? Why does this get mentioned all the time? Thought it was supposed to be a stealth fighter. It's not supposed to ever need to be in dogfights. Anyways, still an expensive piece of shit
If this is true, and I'm inclined to agree with your assessment, then it makes one wonder why they're spending time, money, weight, and space on a cannon when PGMs can do the job more cheaply and effectively.
The B and C don't have a cannon. I honestly feel like it's a bone being thrown to the "we learned this lesson with the F-4" crowd.
Or, if people are complaining that the A-10 does the same job for cheaper and heey, look at how cool these rotary cannons are, then they further frankenstein the plane by adding another element. Reminds me of Tedford's playbook towards the end. Also, the flap covering the cannon looks flimsy. Is it strong enough to stay out of the way when the plane is moving at a few hundred KPH? If it breaks off, how does that affect the radar signature? Yeah, OK, probably a stupid question.
I know a former f18 pilot that did some test flights in the f35. He said the sight displacement in low vis is worse than a blackhawk and that is saying something. He said it will get some pilots killed for sure
Explain sight displacement. I'm not familiar with the term. I know there were latency issues with imagery transmitted to the helmet mounted display but those are fixed now.
Well they teach your eyes to basically have one heads up one on the instruments. In a black hawk you loose orientation with where you are so if you aren't constantly fluctuating your eyes you can be in a dive and think you are in hover. It's scary as shit and what killed that crew in Florida not that long ago. It happened here two weeks ago and all birds are grounded in Kansas right now
Both side have valid arguments in F-35 vs. others Hard to receive a warm welcome when following the best fighter to date
Also, I think half the F-35's controversy would be avoided if it had a loudspeaker installed to make a "BRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTT" sound.
Blackhawks don't use a HUD like modern fighters. Fighter Pilots rarely, during maneuvers, look down into the cockpit at their gauges. All relevant flight data is transmitted onto the HUD, and in the case of the F-35 onto the pilot's visor. It shows airspeed, pitch, roll, yaw, altitude, etc at all times.
Do you keep every outdated and debunked troll article saved to a word document for quick reference? Holy crap at that collection of garbage.