Guns on fighters?

On 8/9/03 5:24 PM, in article
, "Eric Moore"
wrote:

snip

And that takes me to my biggest beef with Navy hardware choices of late:
although the USAF F-35A will have an internal gun, the Navy F-35B will not.
It will have the possibility of carrying a gun in a pod in one of the two
big internal bays, which is the same as saying it is not gona happen, babe.

Lets hope for some high brass with a mean disposition to throw a stupendous
tantrum... put a gun on the F-35B right now, and, BTW, Boeing, come over
here and tell me why the Super Bug still has those 4 degrees toed-out
pylons!
_____________
José Herculano


The Navy didn't go for an internal gun on the F-4J/S, or the A-6 either,
how big of a disadvantage was that?

Would have helped to have a gun on an Intruder during Operation Preying
Mantis. Strafing is quite effective in close quarters and for SuW... And if
you don't have a gun in A/A it sucks to have to open the range and rely on
the min range missile shots.

There were a bunch of thankful troops on the ground in Afghanistan during
Operation Condor that the F/A-18 had a GAU.

The Navy fixed their error on the F-4J/S.

The F-35 doesn't have one (on the Navy version) but needs one. This is
another case of the engineers (and budgeteers) believing their own
arithmetic and sacrificing capability... Make it single engine and don't
install a gun... See? The numbers don't lie. It'll work.

Meanwhile operators are shaking their heads... again.

--Woody

Didn't the F-106 and F-111 have provisions for a Vulcan cannon in the
weapon bay? Was this setup ever used in anger?
Have they decided what kind of gun the F-35 will have?
Also, what's the status of the laser weapon that was to be fitted in
the F-35 weapon bay?
Just curious.