Hello everyone, welcome back with us at Military TV. In today’s episode we
will discuss The Harrier, the Ultimate Vertical Take-off and Landing Aircraft.
If you are curious on what specialities this jet can perform, stayed tuned and don’t move anywhere!
The concept of a vertical take-off or landing
aircraft has been around ever since the first helicopters took flight.
Indeed, a helicopter can perform that, but we are discussing a fully-fledged aircraft,
such as a fighter jet, that has the capability to take off both conventionally, and in a short
runway space as well as being able to do all of that vertically and hover like a helicopter.
Interestingly, there has been plenty of military VTOL aircraft built, with a lot of them being
experimental machines that, literally and figuratively, never got off the ground.
One of the examples is the Hawker Siddeley Harrier,
often referred as the Harrier Jump Jet, is without a doubt the most successful
Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) aircraft ever manufactured. It was originally
developed by British manufacturer Hawker Siddeley in the 1960s. This jet quickly
established itself as the best and most versatile of the VTOL aircraft in development at the time,
and the only one ever created that can really be considered a true success.
In regard to its variant, there are two generations and four main variants of the
Harrier family, developed by both UK and US manufacturers including:
• Hawker Siddeley Harrier • British Aerospace Sea Harrier
• McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II • British Aerospace Harrier II
Referring to its development, the Harrier's first design was that of the Hawker Siddeley P.1127,
latter known as the Kestrel, which first took flight in November 1960. The P.1127 served as
the basis of the Harrier and apparently was very similar to the actual production model.
Redeveloped into the Kestrel, the aircraft was powered by a single Bristol Siddeley Pegasus 5
vectored-thrust turbofan engine, that had a very novel way of enabling the aircraft
to take off and land either vertically, or in a considerably shorter distance
compared to a conventional jet aircraft. Moreover, the engine's vectored-thrust
characteristic meant that the thrust from the aircraft's engine was directed through
four nozzles, two on each side of the aircraft. The aircraft could take off and land vertically
if the nozzles were pointed straight down. If you turn them around, you can have them
set for a shorter take-off run or a standard take-off if the plane is on a regular runway.
The shorter or vertical take-offs would be perfect for regions such as Germany,
where they could take off on the autobahn, or in distant forest areas during a conflict.
Lastly, after the Strategic Defence Review in 2010,
the Harrier was controversially decommissioned from British service.
The AV-8B Harriers, on the other hand, are still in use in the United States. In addition,
the F-35B Lightning II is scheduled to replace the Harrier, despite the fact that the aircraft's
innovative vector-thrusting additional engine has caused problems throughout its development.
The terrible thing about the British Harriers is that they were forced to retire early
due to financial constraints. However, the aircraft had recently been updated to GR.9A
level and was expected to remain in service until at least 2018. The fact that the aircraft is
still in operation in the United States proves that the UK withdrew the Harrier far too soon.
That’s all for today, thanks for watching and see you next time!