Posted on 10/13/2006 7:14:36 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
true story... one of the first Americans to fly backseat in a Harrier off of the ski jump ramp was told by the pilot that..."The flight will be uneventful, however... if there is any problems on take off there will be NO time for communications and you will immediately see me eject.
That will be your cue that all is no longer well."
You just gotta love an attack aircraft which can land in and take off from someones backyard.
If it's good enough for the Marines...
L
Marine version is MUCH superior to the Brit version... with a 30 to 40 percent bigger solid wing let alone the electrics/avionics.
The US AV-8B is the only true multi-role harrier.The Brits divided their load with the Sea Harrier for airdefence & Gr-5/Gr-7 variants for ground attack.The Sea Harrier FA-2 is considered the best fighter variant.
of just the Brits or the US too...??? if so it's prolly cause it lighter, no?
It will give our PHIBRONS a much better strike capablity, particually when the future AEW and ASW variants of the V-22 are deployed (my own conjecture). The WASPS and the future LHX vessels will then truly be able to operate in the Sea Control role and their normal Ampbibious assault role with a LOT more autonomy...freeing the super carriers up to operate more freely too.
Our allies VTOL carriers will be much more capable at that time too.
I know these developments are costly...and not without their technical problems. but that's what happens when you push the envelope. And we are doing it in this regard and I believe we will prevaile and be successful.
Just my opinion.
Thanks...great story that!
All Harrier variants incl. American ones.The FA-2 got a better radar,the SeaVixen,in addition to carrying AMRAAMS all the time.Flipside is that it has little real ground attack capabilitiy
Granted, it does not have the full capabilities of an F-22. But it is not intended to. That is not its role. It is to the F-22 what the F-16 is to the F-15.
The "popular wisdom" that insists on dissing the F-35 is woefully uneducated about the aircraft. Its critics are a flock of parrots brainlessly repeating what they heard some other parrot squawk.
Pssst. The Indian Navy Harrier are the UK built version. They are extremely happy with them. The UK refused to sell them with the radar or missile package. The missile technology is the AMRAAM (US).
I think there was no problem with selling the Sea-Vixen radar package given that the RN now has practically no use of them.Infact it was offered to the IN a few years ago when it first sought to upgrade the Sea Harrier.The AMRAAMs would have been different given that they are American.I think that the problem was the IN would have tied itself in knots if it had 2 different Harrier fleets-one operating the Israeli ELM-2032 & the new ones the Sea Vixen.The IN's relatively low budget would have made upgrading the newer Harriers with the Elta radars unviable.
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