Lockheed tests its new aircraft with a prototype machine gun at the Edwards Air Force Flight Test Center. The F-35A ha fired its guns for the first time while airborne to test its new Gatling system configurations.
The Lockheed Martin Lightning II fighter aircraft tests its Gatling gun system while airborne for the first time at the Edwards Air Force Flight Test Center in California. While testing the new aircraft's speeds, three bursts of its 25 mm Gatling gun system marked the testing's second stage for machine gun configuration certification and that all of the Gun Airborne Unit's parts were functional. As the Lockheed fighter plane took off and landed, Conventional TakeOff and Landing protocols were also certified.
The test was carried out at the harmonizing range in an Air Force base in California. A certified success in all configurations, the F-35A was conformed to full production and to be installed with the Gatling gun system it demonstrated during its test flight.
The 25 mm four-barrel 182-round Gatling system is installed in the Lightning II's left wing. It is covered by a panel to reduce radar detection when on standby. The gun system installed in the fighter jet previously performed 13 ground firings before it was simulated on the Lockheed flight test.
The Lockheed fighter plane is designed to engage in air-to-ground combats as well as air-to-air dogfights. The Gatling system is a part of the standard artilleries for three variants of Lockheed's fifth generation fighter planes.
Designed for speed, agility and stealth, the F-35 also features advanced radar sensors and networking abilities. The Lockheed planes are intended to replace a large number of United States fighter planes as well as 10 other nations' combat aircrafts.
Lockheed Martin deep-rooted that the latest demonstration marked a major milestone for next year's U.S. Air Force Initial Operational Capability. Additional demonstrations will be carried out in 2016 with the Gatling system fully embedded in the Fighter II's fusion software and sensor systems that feeds information to the pilot's helmet display. Demonstrations will include air to ground and air to air exercises and is estimated to finish in 2017.
