Harrier aircraft

Harrier GR5, RAF

The Harrier JumpJet

Many people have tried to develop a jet aircraft, a fighter, to be more precise, which could take off, and land, vertically. And why would that be ? Simply because during a war, not only that you need to be as close as the front as possible, in order to rapidly deploy for the mission, but also because during a war, the enemy tends to have the nasty habbit of bombing your own air bases and runways, so you will not be able to operate your expensive and efficient fighter fleet :-).
There have been many attempts, ranging from aircraft which landed on water (YF-2Y1 Seadart), aircraft which literally hanged themselves to the hangar (Ryan X-13 VertiJet), as well as hibrid airplanes/helicopters (which at first were not very efficient).
In the end, the first operational vertical take-off or landing (VTOL) aircraft was the british Hawker Harrier, nicknamed "the JumpJet".
The Sea Harrier is an updated version of the Harrier
Sea Harriers were used in the Falklands to counteract the actions of the Argentinian Air Force.
The British produced the Harrier GR5, the Sea Harrier, Sea Harrier FA2 and the latest version, Harrier GR7.
The Harrier GR7 is the most advanced of the Harrier family
...and pilots say that there's nothing more to do to upgrade the GR7 anymore


Royal Air Force AV-8B Harrier, with 7x JDAM 500 pounds GPS-guided bombs and at least one (visible) AIM-9 Sidewinder missile

US Marines are also using their AV-8B Harriers for CAS(Close Air Support) in amphibious attacks, landings or when securing a beach-head.

Here is one of their planes Click the picture for the real sized version harrier1.jpg, 1024x768, 65 K

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Sorin Harrier page is Copyright 2003 by Sorin A. Crasmarelu

Write me an e-mail if you wish ! [email protected] ...always happy to meet other aviators !