The Air Force is seeking information from the munitions industry on ammunition for the gun system on the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the close air support replacement for the A-10 and F-16. The rub is that the ammo must be lethal in both air-to-ground and air-to-air combat environments, according to a Request for Information, modified May 19 to remove the words “frangible armor piercing.” The USAF variant of the F-35 has a GAU-22A gun system that takes 25mm ammunition. According to the RFI, “none of the existing 25mm combat ammunition within the DOD inventory (PGU-20/25/32) can achieve the USAF required lethality.” It goes on to note that the limited ammo storage capacity on this new fighter make a multi-role, dual-purpose projectile design critical. And, any proposed ammo must be relatively mature technology. Response date is June 13.
President Donald Trump projected confidence Nov. 19 that a proposed sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia will sail through the Foreign Military Sales process, an early test of the Pentagon’s acquisition reforms. The deal is also likely to face scrutiny from ally Israel over how it could affect the balance…
