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From: Miloch <Miloch_member@newsguy.com>
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Subject: British Aerospace Harrier II
Date: 5 Jun 2018 06:41:42 -0700
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Aerospace_Harrier_II
The British Aerospace Harrier II was a second-generation vertical/short takeoff
and landing (V/STOL) jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force (RAF)
and, between 2006 and 2010, the Royal Navy (RN). The aircraft was the latest
development of the Harrier Jump Jet family, and was derived from the McDonnell
Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. Initial deliveries of the Harrier II were designated
in service as Harrier GR5; subsequently upgraded airframes were redesignated
accordingly as GR7 and GR9.
Under the Joint Force Harrier organisation, both the RAF and RN operated the
Harrier II, including routine operational deployments on board the navy's
Invincible class aircraft carriers. The Harrier II participated in numerous
conflicts, making significant contributions in combat theatres such as Kosovo,
Iraq, and Afghanistan. The type's main function was as a platform for air
interdiction and close air support missions; the Harrier II was also used for
presence projection and reconnaissance duties. The Harrier II served alongside
the Sea Harrier in Joint Force Harrier.
In December 2010, budgetary pressures led to the early retirement of all Harrier
IIs from service, at which point it was the last of the Harrier derivatives
remaining in British service. The decision to retire was controversial as there
was no immediate fixed-wing replacement in its role or fixed-wing
carrier-capable aircraft left in service; in the long term the Harrier II is to
be replaced by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.
The Harrier II is an extensively modified version of the first generation
Harrier GR1/GR3 series. The original aluminium alloy fuselage was replaced by a
fuselage which makes extensive use of composites, providing significant weight
reduction and increased payload or range. A new one-piece wing provides around
14 per cent more area and increased thickness. The wing and leading-edge root
extensions allows for a 6,700-pound (3,035 kg) payload increase over a 1,000 ft
(300 m) takeoff compared with the first generation Harriers. The RAF's Harrier
IIs feature an additional missile pylon in front of each wing landing gear, as
well as strengthened leading edges on the wings in order to meet higher bird
strike requirements. Among the major differences with the American cousin, was
the new ZEUS ECM system, also proposed for the USMC AV-8 (which retained, after
an evaluation, the original ALQ-164). ZEUS was one of the main systems in the
British design, being a modern and costly apparatus, with an estimated cost of
$1.7 million per set.
Role
V/STOL strike aircraft
National origin
United Kingdom / United States
Manufacturer
British Aerospace / McDonnell Douglas
BAE Systems / Boeing
First flight
30 April 1985
Introduction
December 1989
Retired
March 2011
Status
Retired
Primary users
Royal Air Force (historical)
Royal Navy (historical)
Number built
143
Developed from
Hawker Siddeley Harrier
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
The first squadrons to receive the Harrier II were based in Royal Air Force
Germany, a standing force maintained to deter Soviet aggression against the West
and, in the event of war, to carry out ground attacks. As the Harrier II had
significantly greater range and survivability than its predecessor the Hawker
Siddeley Harrier, a new emphasis was placed on interdiction operations. By the
end of 1990, the Harrier II was approaching full operational status with several
squadrons. During the 1991 Gulf War, the Harrier II was considered to be too
immature to be deployed. However, several aircraft were dispatched to patrol
no-fly zones over Iraq from 1993 onwards. In 1994, the last of the RAF's first
generation Harriers was retired, the Harrier II having taken over its duties.
During the Battle of Basra, a key Iraqi city, Harriers conducted multiple strike
missions against Iraqi fuel depots to cripple enemy ground vehicles; other
priority targets for the Harriers included tanks, boats, and artillery.
According to Nordeen, roughly 30 per cent of all RAF Harrier operations were
close air support missions, supporting advancing allied ground troops. In April
2003, the Ministry of Defence admitted that RAF Harriers had deployed
controversial RBL755 cluster bombs in Iraq. Both the British and American
Harrier squadrons were withdrawn from operations in Iraq during Summer 2003.
In January 2007, the Harrier GR9 began its first operational deployment at
Kandahar, as part of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF);
Harrier GR7s would be progressively withdrawn in favour of the newer Harrier
GR9. Following five years of continuous operations in Afghanistan, the last of
Britain's Harriers were withdrawn from the Afghan theatre in June 2009, having
flown over 22,000 hours on 8,500 sorties, they were replaced by several RAF
Tornado GR4s.
The Harrier GR9 was expected to stay in service at least until 2018. However, on
19 October 2010 it was announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review
that the Harrier was to be retired by April 2011. In the long term, the F-35B
Lightning II, shall operate from the Navy's two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft
carriers. The decision to retire the Harrier was controversial, with some senior
officers calling for the Panavia Tornado to be retired as an alternative; the
decision having left Britain without any fixed-wing aircraft capable of flying
from the navy's aircraft carriers.
Specifications (Harrier GR7)
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 46 ft 4 in (14.12 m)
Wingspan: 30 ft 4 in (9.25 m)
Height: 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m)
Empty weight: 12,500 lb (5,700 kg)
Loaded weight: 15,703 lb (7,123 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 18,950 lb VTO, 31,000 lb STO (8,595 kg VTO, 14,061 kg STO)
(96.7 kN)
Performance
Maximum speed: 662 mph (1,065 km/h)
Combat radius: 300 nmi (556 km)
Ferry range: 2,015 mi (3256 km)
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,170 m)
Rate of climb: 14,715 ft/min (74.8 m/s)
Armament
Hardpoints: 8 (under-wing pylon stations 1A & 7A are intended for air-to-air
missiles only) with a capacity of 8,000 lb (3,650 kg) of payload and provisions
Bombs: ordnance such as Paveway series of laser-guided bombs, unguided iron
bombs (including 3 kg and 14 kg practice bombs)
Reconnaissance Pod)
A government statement gave the following systems as being cleared for the GR9
as of November 2010, just before its retirement :
Recce/targeting pods: DJRP, Sniper and TIALD
Air-to-air: AIM-9L Sidewinder
Bombs: Paveway II/III/IV, Enhanced Paveway II/II+, 540 lb and 1000 lb iron bombs
Air-to-ground: CRV-7 rocket pod AGM-65 Maverick
The Litening 3 and RAPTOR pods, ASRAAM, Enhanced Paveway III, ALARM, Brimstone
and Storm Shadow were not qualified for use on the GR9. A GR9 in Afghanistan
typically carried a DJRP, a Sniper pod, two Paveway IV and two of either CRV-7,
Paveway IV or Maverick.
*
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