The U.S. Air Force has awarded Rheinmetall a contract worth $6.5 million to supply several ten thousand rounds of its new 25mm x 137 Frangible Armour Piercing (FAP) round for the F-35.
Photo: Chad Bellay, Edwards F-35 Integrated Test Force
Manufacture of the four lots will take place at Rheinmetall Switzerland with delivery starting in December.
The company said the new round is not just deadly in air-to-air combat, it can destroy Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) at extreme slant ranges as well.