The Harrier, informally referred to as the Harrier Jump Jet, is a family of jet-powered attack
aircraft capable of Vertical and Short Take-Off and Landing operations with the acronym V/STOL.
This jet was originally developed by British manufacturer Hawker Siddeley in the 1960s.
The Harrier emerged as the only successful V/STOL design of the many attempted during that era.
It was conceived to operate from improvised bases, such as car parks or forest clearings,
without requiring large and vulnerable air bases. The design was then adapted for use from aircraft
carriers. It is probably the Harrier that is the most iconic British fighter design,
and it was one of the few aircraft sold to the US in numbers. So, why was it retired?
A total of 28 Sea Harriers and 14 Harrier GR3s were deployed. The Sea Harrier
squadrons shot down 20 Argentine aircraft in air-to-air combat with no air-to-air losses.
Out of the total Argentine air losses, 28 percent were shot down by Harriers. The harrier returned
from the Falklands as an icon, cementing the reputation of British aircraft design. Second
generation Harrier IIs went on to see action in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. It was a fighter
that was proven in combat and, if it needed to, it could even land on a shipping container.
Moreover, throughout the 1950s and 1960s, a number of aircraft companies separately
decided to investigate the viability of vertical or short take-off and landing.
The concrete runways that jet aircraft required, were vulnerable to attack and the solution was to
develop an aircraft that could take off virtually anywhere like they could in the second world war.
VSTOL aircraft would be able to take off, land and refuel anywhere. Jets would be able to hide
in wood blocks, improvised bases or car parks without demanding large and vulnerable air bases.
As early as 1951, there were outstanding designs that had aircraft taking off vertically,
like rockets from warships. In the 60s the US was making failed VSTOL prototypes
a bit of a bad habit. Swivelling engines on wings, lift fans, separate lift jets. The ideas were
new and adventurous. There was even a moment in history when companies were trying to make large,
cargo aircraft that could take off on short runways, and land vertically.
The Harrier Jump Jet, capable of taking off vertically, can only do so at less than its
maximum loaded weight. In most cases, a short take off is needed to lift the required amount of fuel
and weapons needed for a training sortie/mission, using forward speed to supplement the jet lift
with aerodynamic lift. A short take-off also require less fuel than a vertical take-off.
On aircraft carriers, a ski-jump ramp is used at the bow of the carrier to help the aircraft
become airborne. Landings are not usually done in a conventional manner because the range of speeds
at which this is advisable is narrow due to the relatively vulnerable outrigger undercarriage.
Operationally, a near-vertical landing with some forward speed
is preferred in which this technique is called shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL).
It was announced that during 2010, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy would retire their remaining
Harriers by 2011, and in December 2010 the RAF's Harrier GR9s made their last operational flights.
Also In June 2011, the Military of Defence denied press reports that the aircraft were to be sold
to the US Marine Corps for spares to support their AV-8B fleet. However, at the end of November 2011,
Defence Minister Peter Luff announced the sale of the final 72 Harriers to the US Marine Corps,
with the aircraft to be used as sources of spare parts for the Marine Corps' airworthy fleet.
As of June 2015, the STOVL variant of the F-35 Lightning II which was formerly the
Joint Strike Fighter, designated the F-35B, was intended to replace the AV-8B Harrier II
in service with the US Marine Corps while the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy were
scheduled to introduce the F-35B in 2016 with their first F35 unit, 617 Squadron.
That’s all for today, thanks for watching and see you next time!