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British Aerospace Sea Harrier
The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier family developed. It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the "Shar". Unusual in an era in which most naval and land-based air superiority fighters were large and supersonic, the principal role of the subsonic Sea Harrier was to provide air defence for Royal Navy task groups centred around the aircraft carriers.
The Sea Harrier served in the Falklands War and the Balkans conflicts; on all occasions it mainly operated from aircraft carriers positioned within the conflict zone. Its usage in the Falklands War was its most high profile and important success, when it was the only fixed-wing fighter available to protect the British Task Force. The Sea Harriers shot down 20 enemy aircraft during the conflict; 2 Sea Harriers were lost to enemy ground fire. They were also used to launch ground attacks in the same manner as the Harriers operated by the Royal Air Force.
The Sea Harrier was marketed for sales abroad, but India was the only other operator after attempts to sell the aircraft to Argentina and Australia were unsuccessful. A second, updated version for the Royal Navy was made in 1993 as the Sea Harrier FA2, improving its air-to-air abilities and weapons compatibilities, along with a more powerful engine; this version was manufactured until 1998. The aircraft was withdrawn from service early by the Royal Navy in 2006, but remained in service with the Indian Navy for a further decade until its retirement in 2016.
In the post-World War II era, the Royal Navy began contracting in size. By 1960, the last battleship, HMS Vanguard, was retired from the Navy, having been in service for less than fifteen years. In 1966 the planned CVA-01 class of large aircraft carriers was cancelled. During this time, requirements within the Royal Navy began to form for a vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) carrier-based interceptor to replace the de Havilland Sea Vixen. The first V/STOL tests on a ship began with a Hawker Siddeley P.1127 landing on HMS Ark Royal in 1963.
A second concept for the future of naval aviation emerged in the early 1970s when the first of a new class of "through deck cruisers" was planned. These were very carefully and politically designated as cruisers, deliberately avoiding the term "aircraft carrier" to increase the chances of funding in a political climate hostile to expensive capital ships. The resulting Invincible-class carriers were considerably smaller than the CVA-01 design, but came to be widely recognised as aircraft carriers. Almost immediately upon their construction, a ski-jump was added to the end of the 170-metre deck, enabling the carriers to effectively operate a small number of V/STOL jets.
The naval staff were able to build an effective political argument for acquiring V/STOL aircraft on the grounds that anti-submarine groups operating in the NATO Atlantic area, the intended main role of the through-deck cruisers, would be vulnerable to attack by Soviet anti-ship missiles. These could be launched at a considerable distance by a submarine or surface ship but needed to be guided in by a maritime patrol aircraft; fast jets carried onboard would be able to shoot these down. No mention was made of the other capabilities that these aircraft would have.
The Royal Air Force's Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR1s had entered service in April 1969. A navalized variant of the Harrier was developed by Hawker Siddeley to serve on the upcoming ships; this became the Sea Harrier. In 1975, the Royal Navy ordered 24 Sea Harrier FRS.1 (standing for 'Fighter, Reconnaissance, Strike') aircraft, the first of which entered service in 1978. During this time, Hawker Siddeley became part of British Aerospace through nationalisation in 1977. By the time the prototype Sea Harrier was flown at Dunsfold on 20 August 1978, the order had been increased to 34. The Sea Harrier was declared operational in 1981 on board the first Invincible-class ship HMS Invincible, and further aircraft joined the ageing HMS Hermes aircraft carrier later that year.
In 1984, approval was given to upgrade of the fleet to FRS.2 standard (later known as FA2) following the lessons learned during the aircraft's deployment in the 1982 Falklands War. The first flight of the prototype took place in September 1988 and a contract was signed for 29 upgraded aircraft in December that year. In 1990, the Navy ordered 18 new-build FA2s at a unit cost of around £12 million, four further upgraded aircraft were ordered in 1994. The first aircraft was delivered on 2 April 1993.
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British Aerospace Sea Harrier
The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier family developed. It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the "Shar". Unusual in an era in which most naval and land-based air superiority fighters were large and supersonic, the principal role of the subsonic Sea Harrier was to provide air defence for Royal Navy task groups centred around the aircraft carriers.
The Sea Harrier served in the Falklands War and the Balkans conflicts; on all occasions it mainly operated from aircraft carriers positioned within the conflict zone. Its usage in the Falklands War was its most high profile and important success, when it was the only fixed-wing fighter available to protect the British Task Force. The Sea Harriers shot down 20 enemy aircraft during the conflict; 2 Sea Harriers were lost to enemy ground fire. They were also used to launch ground attacks in the same manner as the Harriers operated by the Royal Air Force.
The Sea Harrier was marketed for sales abroad, but India was the only other operator after attempts to sell the aircraft to Argentina and Australia were unsuccessful. A second, updated version for the Royal Navy was made in 1993 as the Sea Harrier FA2, improving its air-to-air abilities and weapons compatibilities, along with a more powerful engine; this version was manufactured until 1998. The aircraft was withdrawn from service early by the Royal Navy in 2006, but remained in service with the Indian Navy for a further decade until its retirement in 2016.
In the post-World War II era, the Royal Navy began contracting in size. By 1960, the last battleship, HMS Vanguard, was retired from the Navy, having been in service for less than fifteen years. In 1966 the planned CVA-01 class of large aircraft carriers was cancelled. During this time, requirements within the Royal Navy began to form for a vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) carrier-based interceptor to replace the de Havilland Sea Vixen. The first V/STOL tests on a ship began with a Hawker Siddeley P.1127 landing on HMS Ark Royal in 1963.
A second concept for the future of naval aviation emerged in the early 1970s when the first of a new class of "through deck cruisers" was planned. These were very carefully and politically designated as cruisers, deliberately avoiding the term "aircraft carrier" to increase the chances of funding in a political climate hostile to expensive capital ships. The resulting Invincible-class carriers were considerably smaller than the CVA-01 design, but came to be widely recognised as aircraft carriers. Almost immediately upon their construction, a ski-jump was added to the end of the 170-metre deck, enabling the carriers to effectively operate a small number of V/STOL jets.
The naval staff were able to build an effective political argument for acquiring V/STOL aircraft on the grounds that anti-submarine groups operating in the NATO Atlantic area, the intended main role of the through-deck cruisers, would be vulnerable to attack by Soviet anti-ship missiles. These could be launched at a considerable distance by a submarine or surface ship but needed to be guided in by a maritime patrol aircraft; fast jets carried onboard would be able to shoot these down. No mention was made of the other capabilities that these aircraft would have.
The Royal Air Force's Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR1s had entered service in April 1969. A navalized variant of the Harrier was developed by Hawker Siddeley to serve on the upcoming ships; this became the Sea Harrier. In 1975, the Royal Navy ordered 24 Sea Harrier FRS.1 (standing for 'Fighter, Reconnaissance, Strike') aircraft, the first of which entered service in 1978. During this time, Hawker Siddeley became part of British Aerospace through nationalisation in 1977. By the time the prototype Sea Harrier was flown at Dunsfold on 20 August 1978, the order had been increased to 34. The Sea Harrier was declared operational in 1981 on board the first Invincible-class ship HMS Invincible, and further aircraft joined the ageing HMS Hermes aircraft carrier later that year.
In 1984, approval was given to upgrade of the fleet to FRS.2 standard (later known as FA2) following the lessons learned during the aircraft's deployment in the 1982 Falklands War. The first flight of the prototype took place in September 1988 and a contract was signed for 29 upgraded aircraft in December that year. In 1990, the Navy ordered 18 new-build FA2s at a unit cost of around £12 million, four further upgraded aircraft were ordered in 1994. The first aircraft was delivered on 2 April 1993.