Cannon
The F-22 is equipped with a M61A2 internal long-barrel
20 mm cannon with a 480 round magazine capacity, which
is mounted above the right wing root. An inward opening
door covers the muzzle to preserve the fighters stealth
qualities.
The F-22's close-range weapon is the M61A2 20mm cannon.
The system is integrally mounted in the aircraft and located
on the right side of the aircraft between the wing (top
side) and fuselage. It is a fixed-forward firing mount.
A gun door, located in the wing root area, is hydraulically
controlled to open when firing the gun, which allows the
rounds and blast pressure to clear the muzzle. The door
opens to 90 degrees and is activated in milliseconds.
When the trigger is released by the pilot (or the last
round switch engaged), the door is commanded to close.
The door is an aid to the F-22's stealth characteristics,
and it helps the aircraft's aerodynamics by reducing drag.
A 480-round closed loop ammunition feed and storage subsystem
is housed integrally under the right wing root/fuselage
for easy ammo upload and download of empty casings. The
gun system consists of the M61A2 gun, the Linear Linkless
Ammunition Handling System (LLAHS), the hydraulic drive
system, and the gun door/gun port and gas purge system.
The gun hydraulic drive unit is a 42 horsepower fixed
displacement motor sized to achieve a 6,000 round per
minute gun firing rate at all flight loading conditions.
Missiles
The F-22 is capable of carrying existing and planned
air-to-air weapons. These include a full complement
of medium-range missiles such as the AIM-120A advanced
medium range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) and short-range
missiles such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder.
The F-22 has four internal weapons bays for its main armaments.
Two at the bottom of the mid-fuselage and two on the air
intake sides. Four underwing hardpoints are mainly meant
for fuel tanks on ferry flights, but can also carry a
weapon load. Below the different weapons configurations
are shown:
Air-to-air configuration:
2 AIM-9 [Sidewinder] missiles in the side bays + 6 AIM
120C [AMRAAM] missiles. (or 4 of the older AIM 120A [AMRAAM]
missiles, which have longer fins)
Air-to-ground configuration:
2 AIM-9 [Sidewinder] missiles in the side bays + 2 AIM
120C [AMRAAM] missiles + 2 GBU-32 JDAM 450 pounds bombs.
(or 2 GBU-30 JDAM 1000 pound bombs and no AMRAAM missiles)
External combat configuration:
2 fueltanks + 4 missiles.
Ferry configuration:
4 external fuel tanks + 8 missiles
Below is picture of the missile ejection system which
can be found in the main weapons bay. If the pilot decides
to fire a missile, the weapons bay door of the referring
missile will open, the mechanism will carry the missile
outside the plane, the missile can lock and it is fired.
When the missile is away, the ejection system will retract
into the weapons bay again and the bay door closes to
preserve the fighters stealthyness.
The next CAD image is showing the main weapons bay, in
which 6 missiles are clearly visible. (Air-to-Air configuration).
The front of the weapons bay doors are triangular shaped
to preserve the F-22's stealth characteristics.
|
