Hawker Siddeley Harrier
RAF Harrier GR7
Description
Role	Close-support and reconnaissance
Crew
First Flight
Entered Service	1969
Manufacturer
Dimensions
Length	ft in	13.90 m
Wingspan	ft in	7.70 m
Height	ft in	3.45 m
Wing Area	ft²	m²
Weights
Empty	lb	5530 kg
Loaded	lb	7830 kg
Maximum Takeoff	lb	11,500 kg
Capacity
Powerplant
Engines	1 Rolls--Royce Bristol Pegasus 101 turbofan
Thrust	19,000 lbf	85 kN
Performance
Maximum Speed	mph	1185 km/h
Combat Range	mile	km
Ferry Range	miles	km
Service Ceiling	ft	m
Rate of Climb	ft/min	m/min
Wing Loading	lb/ft²	kg/m²
Thrust/Weight
Power/Mass	hp/lb	kW/kg
Avionics
Avionics
Armament
Guns	2 30-mm Aden external cannon pods
Bombs	various
Missiles	Martel or AIM-9D guided missiles
Rockets
Other	Reconnaissance pod or fuel tanks

See also BAE Sea Harrier Harrier GR-7. ... See also Hawker Siddeley Harrier The BAE SYSTEMS Harrier FA2 is the latest development of the Sea Harrier fighter/attack aircraft which entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980. ...

The Hawker Siddeley Harrier and the AV-8A are the first generation of the Harrier series, a successful close-support and reconnaissance fighter aircraft with V/STOL capabilities. The Harrier continues to serve today as the Harrier GR7 and GR9 and AV-8B which are built by BAE Systems and Boeing. Ironically, the current operational British Harriers (GR7 and GR9) are license-built versions of the McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) version, respectively the AV-8B Harrier II and AV-8B+ Harrier II Plus. A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... STOL is an acronym for Short Take-Off and Landing, used in the aircraft industry to describe airplanes with very low runway requirements. ... The Harrier GR5, GR7, GR7A, GR9 and GR9A are all Royal Air Force variants of the BAE Systems/Boeing Harrier II. The programme is a joint development between BAE and Boeing (initially British Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas). ... See also Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Harrier II is a second generation, vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) light_attack jet aircraft used by the United States Marine Corps, Royal Air Force, Spanish Armada and Italian navy. ... BAE Systems is the worlds fourth largest defence contractor and a commercial aerospace products manufacturer. ... The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) is a leading American aircraft and aerospace manufacturer, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with its largest production facilities in Everett, Washington, near Seattle, Washington. ... DC-10, retired from American Airlines fleet at gate McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. ...

Variants

Hawker P.1127

The Harrier family was started with the Hawker P.1127. Design began in 1957 by Sir Sidney Camm, Ralph Hooper of Hawker Aviation and Stanley Hooker of the Bristol Engine Company. Rather than using rotors or a direct jet thrust the P.1127 had an innovative vectored thrust turbofan engine and the first vertical take-off was on October 21, 1960. Sidney Camm (1893–March 12, 1966) was an English aeronautical engineer and is widely known as the designer of the Hawker Hurricane fighter. ... Hawker-Siddeley was a British aircraft manufacturing company. ... Thrust vectoring is the ability of an aircraft to direct the thrust from its main engine(s) in a direction other than parallel to the aircrafts length. ... A Pratt and Whitney turbofan engine for the F-15 Eagle is tested at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, USA. The tunnel behind the engine muffles noise and allows exhaust to escape. ... October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Kestrel FGA.1

Design continued after Hawker Siddeley Aviation was created with the Kestrel, which first flew on March 7, 1964. The Kestrel was an evaluation aircraft offered to military test pilots from Britain, the US and West Germany (the Tri-partite evaluation unit). Successful tests led to an order for sixty aircraft from the RAF in 1967. Hawker-Siddeley was a British aircraft manufacturing company. ... March 7 is the 66th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (67th in Leap years). ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: United States Wikinews has news related to this article: United States United States government Official website of the United States government - Gateway to governmental sites White House - Official site of the US President Senate. ... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the UK Armed Forces. ...

Harrier GR.1

The Harrier GR Mk.1 was the first production model of the Kestrel, it first flew on December 28, 1967, and entered service with the RAF on April 1, 1969. Construction took place at factories in Kingston-upon-Thames in southwest London and at Dunsfold, Surrey. The latter adjoined an airfield used for flight testing; both factories have since closed. The ski-jump technique for STOL use by Harriers launched from Royal Navy aircraft carriers was tested at the Royal Navy's Somerset airfield at Yeovilton. Their flight decks were designed with an upward curve to the bow following the successful conclusion of those tests. The air combat technique of VIFFing was evolved in the Harrier - vectoring in forward flight - to outmaneuver a hostile aircraft or other inbound weapon. December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 3 days remaining. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... An aircraft carrier is a warship whose main role is to deploy and recover aircraft. ... Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. ...

Harrier GR.1A

The GR1A was an upgraded version of the GR1, the main difference being the uprated Pegasus Mk 102. 58 GR1As entered RAF service, 17 GR1As were produced and a further 41 GR1s were upgraded.

Harrier GR.3

The Harrier GR3 featured improved sensors, countermeasures and a further uprated Pegasus Mk 103. During the Falklands War the GR3 performed attack sorties from the aircraft carriers Invincible and Hermes, and later from basic landing strips on the islands. The GR3 was the ultimate development of the 1st generation Harrier. The Falklands War or the Malvinas War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas), was an armed conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands, also known in Spanish as the Islas Malvinas, between March and June of 1982. ... The sixth and current HMS Invincible (R05) is a light aircraft carrier, the lead ship of three in her class. ... The second HMS Hermes (R12) was a Centaur-class aircraft carrier, the last of the postwar conventional aircraft carriers commissioned into the Royal Navy. ...

Specification (GR1 data)

Dimensions

• Length: 13.90 m
• Height: 3.45 m
• Span: 7.70 m

Power plant

• 1 Rolls--Royce Bristol Pegasus 101 turbofan with four swivelling nozzles, generating 19000 lb (85 kN) of thrust.

Rolls-Royce plc (also known as Rolls-Royce Aero Engines) is the second-largest aircraft engine maker in the world, behind General Electrics GE Aircraft Engines division. ... Rolls-Royce Pegasus The Rolls Royce Pegasus is a turbofan engine manufactured by Rolls-Royce plc. ...

Weight

• Basic operating weight: 5530 kg
• Max. payload on external stores: 2300 kg plus
• Max. take-off weight: 11,500 kg

Performance

• Max. speed at sea level: 1185 km/h
  
• Ceiling : 15 000 m

Armament

There was no internal armament. Two 30-mm Aden cannon pods could be fitted under the fuselage sides. There were an additional four underwing and one under-fuselage pylon hard-points to carry various loadouts, including bombs, unguided rocket pods, the Martel or AIM-9D guided missiles, reconnaissance pod or fuel tanks

The RAF ordered 118 of the GR Mk.1 to 3 series Harrier. The AV-8A for the USMC and the Spanish airforce was very similar and 113 craft were ordered. United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ...

• 1st generation Harriers
  • Hawker P.1127 (1960)
  • Hawker Siddeley Kestrel (1964)
  • Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR Mk.1 (1966)
  • Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR Mk.1/1A (1969)
  • Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR Mk.3/3A
  • British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS Mk.1 (1979)
  • British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS Mk.51 (1983)
  • British Aerospace Sea Harrier FA2 (1988)
  • Hawker Siddeley Harrier T Mk.2/2A (1970)
  • Hawker Siddeley Harrier T Mk.4/4A
  • British Aerospace Harrier T8 (1994)
  • Hawker Siddeley AV-8A Harrier (USMC version, 1970)
  • Hawker Siddeley AV-8S Matador (for Spain, 1983)
• 2nd generation (Harrier IIs)
  • McDonnell Douglas-BAe AV-8B Harrier II (1983)
  • British Aerospace-McDonnell Douglas Harrier GR Mk.5/5A (1985)
  • British Aerospace-McDonnell Douglas Harrier GR7 (1992)
  • British Aerospace Harrier T Mk.10
  • McDonnell Douglas-BAe AV-8B Harrier II Plus (1992)

The later model Harriers are easily distinguished by their extended wingspan, the wings extending beyond the outrigger wheels that are at the wingtips of the earlier versions (including Kestrel prototypes and the Sea Harrier). See also Hawker Siddeley Harrier The BAE SYSTEMS Harrier FA2 is the latest development of the Sea Harrier fighter/attack aircraft which entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980. ... See also Hawker Siddeley Harrier The BAE SYSTEMS Harrier FA2 is the latest development of the Sea Harrier fighter/attack aircraft which entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980. ... See also Hawker Siddeley Harrier The BAE SYSTEMS Harrier FA2 is the latest development of the Sea Harrier fighter/attack aircraft which entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980. ... April 7th 2003: an AV-8B Harrier takes off from the assault ship USS Nassau, to engage targets over Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom See also Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Harrier II is a second generation, vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) light-attack jet aircraft used... The Harrier GR5, GR7, GR7A, GR9 and GR9A are all Royal Air Force variants of the BAE Systems/Boeing Harrier II. The programme is a joint development between BAE and Boeing (initially British Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas). ... The Harrier GR5, GR7, GR7A, GR9 and GR9A are all Royal Air Force variants of the BAE Systems/Boeing Harrier II. The programme is a joint development between BAE and Boeing (initially British Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas). ... The Harrier GR5, GR7, GR7A, GR9 and GR9A are all Royal Air Force variants of the BAE Systems/Boeing Harrier II. The programme is a joint development between BAE and Boeing (initially British Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas). ... See also Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Harrier II is a second generation, vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) light_attack jet aircraft used by the United States Marine Corps, Royal Air Force, Spanish Armada and Italian navy. ...

Military Service

The Sea Harrier played a key role in the British victory in the Falklands War. A total of twenty Sea Harriers were deployed from HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible, and they inflicted serious losses on the Argentine air force destroying 23 aircraft in air-to-air combat. In all, three Sea Harriers were lost to ground fire, but none was lost to enemy aircraft. The Falklands War or the Malvinas War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas), was an armed conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands, also known in Spanish as the Islas Malvinas, between March and June of 1982. ... The second HMS Hermes (R12) was a Centaur-class aircraft carrier, the last of the postwar conventional aircraft carriers commissioned into the Royal Navy. ... The sixth and current HMS Invincible (R05) is a light aircraft carrier, the lead ship of three in her class. ...

The Sea Harrier also saw combat during the Bosnia conflict, with one aircraft being shot down by Serbian defences in 1994. During the Kosovo War, combat air patrols were flown, but no weapons were fired. The Sea Harrier also made operational patrols over Iraq during the 12 years of enforcing no-fly zones. The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts (a civil war followed by an international war) in the southern Serbian province called Kosovo (officially Kosovo and Metohia), part of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ...

The RAF version of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier also saw combat during the Falklands War. They operated from Hermes and provided close air support to the ground forces. By the time the Harrier next saw combat, all the RAF Hawker Siddeley machines had been exchanged for the upgraded McDonnell Douglas derived Harrier II.

The Sea Harrier and Harrier GR7 forces were merged to formed Joint Force Harrier in 2000. With the retirement of the Sea Harrier by 2006 the RAF and RN will share the upgraded GR9 fleet until the introduction of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Missing image RAF Harrier GR7 Joint Force Harrier is a defence proposal brought by the British Government as part of Strategic Defence Review. ... The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a fighter plane currently in early development by Lockheed Martin (with partners Northrop Grumman and BAE SYSTEMS.) The primary customers are the United States armed forces and the United Kingdom (RN and RAF), but the Netherlands...

See also Hawker Siddeley Harrier The BAE SYSTEMS Harrier FA2 is the latest development of the Sea Harrier fighter/attack aircraft which entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980. ... The Harrier GR5, GR7, GR7A, GR9 and GR9A are all Royal Air Force variants of the BAE Systems/Boeing Harrier II. The programme is a joint development between BAE and Boeing (initially British Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas). ... See also Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Harrier II is a second generation, vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) light_attack jet aircraft used by the United States Marine Corps, Royal Air Force, Spanish Armada and Italian navy. ...