5 ms·
Don't most f-22s come with a 20mil cannon? Wonder we we're preferring the missiles to just plain old lead?
by horsawlarway 4y ago
Don't most f-22s come with a 20mil cannon? Wonder we we're preferring the missiles to just plain old lead?
- durandal1 4y agoAt those altitudes the combination of a very high closing speed (air is thin) and the short range of the gun creates a real risk of flying into the target you're trying to hit.
- Eduard 4y agoThis sounds paradoxical to me. Using the same reasoning, a gun bullet should also be faster with higher altitude, hence have a longer range.
- Nimitz14 4y agoThe high speed is necessary so the plane doesn’t fall out of the sky. A bullet is going to have a different friction coefficient than a plane so is not as affected by the altitude.
- msandford 4y agoIt's not that the bullets won't fly a long ways. It's that the range where the gun is accurate is fairly small. Sure you could theoretically shoot it from 20 miles away as long as you're 15 miles above the target and can successfully plot the ballistic arc, windage, etc. But fighter jets aren't flying artillery pieces so their computers don't do that kind of targeting.
- davidmr 4y agoIt turns out that high altitude balloons don’t pop when you put small holes in them: https://apnews.com/article/268893fddde785d029d5a51b136951eb https://apnews.com/article/268893fddde785d029d5a51b136951eb
- hot_gril 4y agoIdk, but I'm guessing they treat it like target practice for the missiles.