"Alan Minyard" wrote:
The gun is selected by the USAF, not the contractor. (IIRC)

Is the cannon going to be GFE?
USAF I believe would approve/disapprove whatever cannon is selected by
the
prime contractor based on the requirements outlined in the contract
that
was
awarded.

I really do not know. On ships all of the guns are GFE, on aircraft I
do
not know.
I do know that the selection of weapons is a Govt decision, not the
contractors.

Approval of whatever selection is made by the prime contractor would be,
but
according to the GD fact sheet on the JSF program the contract to design
produce and integrate the weapon for the JSF was awarded to GD by LMT,
not
the US Government.

http://www.gdatp.com/products/lethality/jsf/JSF.pdf


They can award a sub-contract, but the decision as to what weapon to use
is up to the Pentagon.

What "weapon to use" is defined by the specifications if the "weapon to use"
isn't GFE or identified specifically in the contract. The news article at
the end of last year was:

"Lockheed Martin Drops BK 27 Cannon For GD's GAU-12 For JSF By Neil
Baumgardner.
Lockheed Martin [LMT] last week decided to change the cannon in its F-35
Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), dropping the longstanding BK 27 27mm gun offered
by Alliant Techsystems" (Defense Daily November 2002).

No comment appeared in that article that the Pentagon had dropped the BK 27.
The Pentagon's role in this instance appears to be, does the "weapon
selected" meet contract requirements.