| Harrier GR5 / GR7 / GR9 | |
|---|---|
 An RAF Harrier GR7A in Gloucestershire, England |
|
| Type | STOVL strike aircraft |
| Manufacturer | British Aerospace / McDonnell Douglas BAE Systems / Boeing |
| Primary users | Royal Air Force Royal Navy |
| Developed from | Hawker Siddeley Harrier |
| Variants | AV-8B Harrier II |
The BAE Systems/Boeing Harrier II (GR5, GR7, and GR9 series) is a second generation vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet aircraft used by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and, since 2006, the Royal Navy. Ground-attack aircraft are military aircraft designed to attack targets on the ground and are often deployed as Close air support for and in proximity to their own ground forces An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing building testing selling and maintaining Aircraft, Aircraft parts British Aerospace (BAe was a UK aircraft and defence-systems manufacturer that is now part of BAE Systems. McDonnell Douglas was a major American Aerospace manufacturer and Defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft BAE Systems plc (BAE is a British defence and aerospace company headquartered in Farnborough, England, that has global interests particularly The Boeing Company is a major Aerospace and defense corporation originally founded by William E The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout BAE Systems plc (BAE is a British defence and aerospace company headquartered in Farnborough, England, that has global interests particularly The Boeing Company is a major Aerospace and defense corporation originally founded by William E Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL is a term used to describe Aircraft that are able to take-off or land vertically or on short runways A turbofan is a type of Jet engine, similar to a Turbojet. It essentially consists of a Ducted fan with a smaller diameter turbojet engine The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) It was developed from the earlier Hawker Siddeley Harrier and is closely related to the U.S.-built AV-8B Harrier II. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The United States of America —commonly referred to as the WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Both are primarily used for light attack or multi-role tasks, and are often operated from small aircraft carriers. An aircraft carrier is a Warship designed with
Contents |
Design and development
Development of a successor to the first Harrier began as a cooperative effort between McDonnell Douglas (U. McDonnell Douglas was a major American Aerospace manufacturer and Defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft S. ) and Hawker Siddeley (UK). Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies renowned for their aircraft production. Cost overruns eventually led Hawker to withdraw from the project, but work continued due to U. Cost overrun is defined as excess of actual Cost over Budget. S. interest in the aircraft. Britain re-entered development in the late 1970s, producing their own version of the Harrier II based on the U. S. design. For UK variants, BAE Systems is the prime contractor and Boeing a sub-contractor.
The Harrier II is an extensively modified version of the first generation Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR1/GR3 series which first flew in December 1967. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout 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. WikipediaNaming The fuselage (from the French fuselé "spindle-shaped" is an Aircraft 's main body section that holds crew and passengers or Cargo Composite materials (or composites for short are engineered Materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical An all-new one-piece wing provides around 14 per cent more area and increased thickness.
Cockpit
The cockpit is fully integrated for day and night operability and is equipped with head-up (HUD) and head-down displays (MHDDs), a digital moving map, an Inertial Navigation System (INS), and a Hands-On Throttle and Stick system (HOTAS). An Inertial Navigation System (INS is a Navigation aid that uses a Computer and motion sensors to continuously track the position orientation and Velocity HOTAS, an abbreviation for hands on throttle-and-stick, is a style of aircraft cockpit Human-Machine Interaction (HMI which allows the pilot to access the cockpit
The pilot flies the aircraft by means of a conventional centre stick and left-hand throttle. An aircraft Cockpit arrangement where the control column (or Joystick) is located conventionally in the centre of the cockpit between the pilot 's legs
Operational history
In RAF service, Harriers are used in the ground attack and reconnaissance roles. Ground-attack aircraft are military aircraft designed to attack targets on the ground and are often deployed as Close air support for and in proximity to their own ground forces Reconnaissance (also scouting) is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information Unlike the Harrier AV8B+ upgrade, the RAF have chosen not to integrate a radar into its aircraft, although the aircraft retains an Inertial Navigation System. Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range altitude direction or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as Aircraft, ships An Inertial Navigation System (INS is a Navigation aid that uses a Computer and motion sensors to continuously track the position orientation and Velocity The primary air-to-air missile (AAM) of the Harrier is the infrared-homing AIM-9 Sidewinder (the combination of Harrier and Sidewinder proved effective against Argentinian Mirages in the Falklands conflict), but it does not carry the medium range AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. Infrared homing refers to a passive missile guidance system which uses the emission from a target of Electromagnetic radiation in the Infrared The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range Air-to-air missile carried by Fighter aircraft and recently certain gunship helicopters For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Falklands War (Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced am-ram is a modern Beyond Visual Range (BVR air-to-air Missile
With the retirement of the Sea Harrier, it had been suggested that its Blue Vixen radar could be transferred to the GR9 fleet. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout However, the Ministry of Defence rejected this as risky and too expensive. The Ministry of Defence ( MoD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters The Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram estimated that the cost would be in excess of £600m. Adam Paterson Ingram (born in Glasgow on 1 February 1947 is a British politician, and Member of Parliament for East Kilbride. [1]
The Harrier GR7 formed the spearhead of the RAF's contribution to Operation Allied Force, the NATO mission in Kosovo. The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia (code-named Operation Allied Force) was NATO 's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that The North Atlantic Treaty During this campaign the RAF identified significant shortcomings in its current arsenal. As a result the service ordered the AGM-65 Maverick stand-off missile and the Enhanced Paveway which incorporates GPS guidance which would negate the effects of smoke and bad weather. The AGM-65 Maverick is an air-to-ground tactical missile (AGM designed for close air support Standoff missiles are missiles used against land-based targets in an offensive operation their main goal is to break an opponent's defensive line and push them back Paveway is a trademark of Raytheon Company which identifies its variants of Laser Guided Bombs (LGB Basic concept of GPS operation A GPS receiver calculates its position by carefully timing the signals sent by the constellation of GPS Satellites high above the Earth Using updated ordnance as well as unguided iron and cluster munitions, RAF Harrier GR7s played a prominent role in Operation Telic, the UK contribution to the U. Operation (or Op TELIC is the codename under which all British operations of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and after are being conducted S. -led war against Iraq in 2003. The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign RAF GR7s participated in strike and close air support missions throughout the conflict. The first operational deployment of the Harrier GR9 was in January 2007 at Kandahar in Afghanistan as part of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). International Security Assistance Force (10 ( ISAF) is a NATO -led security and development mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Harrier GR7s were deployed to Afghanistan in 2006 as part of the expanded ISAF mission in the south of Afghanistan. Reflecting the increased pace of operations, RAF Harrier GR7As saw a large increase in munitions used, mainly CRV7 rockets and laser guided bombs, used supporting ground forces since July 2006. Between July and September, the theatre total for munitions deployed by British Harriers on planned operations and Close Air Support to ground forces rose from 179 to 539. [2]
Future
With the withdrawal of the Royal Navy's Sea Harrier in 2006, the RAF's Harrier fleet is tasked with the missions that it used to share with those aircraft. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) In 2006, the GR9 also entered service with the Fleet Air Arm when the first former Sea Harrier squadron reformed. The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships The GR9 is expected to stay in service at least until 2015, when the first F-35s are due. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout At this point, the JSF force should be gaining an initial operational capability (IOC). The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF became synonymous with the later F-35 Lightning II, however until 2001 the term was applied to the competition between the Boeing X-32
Variants
Since 1969, 824 Harrier variants have been delivered.
- GR5
The GR5 was the RAF's first second-generation Harrier, with development beginning in 1976. Two AV-8As were modified to Harrier II standard in 1979 and operated as development aircraft. The first BAE built development GR5 flew for the first time on April 30, 1985 and the aircraft entered service in July 1987. Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1985: Events Ryanair founded initially as a full-service carrier The GR5 differed from the USMC AV-8B in many subtle ways, for example avionics fit, weapons and countermeasures. Forty one GR5s were built.
- GR5A
The GR5A was a minor variant of the Harrier which incorporated changes in the design in anticipation of the GR7 upgrade. Twenty-one GR5As were built.
- GR7
The GR7 had its maiden flight in May 1990 and made its first operational deployment in August 1995 over the former Yugoslavia. See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian While the GR7 deployed on Invincible class aircraft carriers during testing as early as June 1994, the first operational deployments at sea began in 1997. Development The Invincible class has its origins in a sketch design for a 6000 ton, guided-missile armed helicopter carrying escort cruiser intended as This arrangement was formalised with the Joint Force Harrier, operating with the Royal Navy's Sea Harrier. Joint Force Harrier is the British military formation which controls the STOVL Harrier aircraft of the Royal Air Force and
- GR7A
The GR7A is the first stage in an upgrade to the Harrier GR9 standard. The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT is the world's largest military Air show, held annually over the third weekend in July usually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire The GR7A is the GR7 with an uprated Rolls-Royce Pegasus 107 engine. Rolls-Royce plc ( is a British Aircraft engine maker and the second-largest in the world behind GE Aviation. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout When upgraded to GR9 standard the uprated engine variants will retain the A designation, becoming GR9As. Forty GR7s are due to receive this upgrade. The Mk 107 engine provides around 3,000 lbf (13 kN) extra thrust than the Mk 105's 21,750 lbf (98 kN) thrust, increasing aircraft performance during "hot and high" and carrier-borne operations. Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton 's Second and Third Laws.
- GR9
The Harrier GR9 is an avionics and weapons upgrade of the standard GR7. This upgrade, known as the Integrated Weapons Programme (IWP), allows the carriage of the latest smart weapons, new inertial navigation and Global Positioning systems (INS/GPS). An Inertial Navigation System (INS is a Navigation aid that uses a Computer and motion sensors to continuously track the position orientation and Velocity Basic concept of GPS operation A GPS receiver calculates its position by carefully timing the signals sent by the constellation of GPS Satellites high above the Earth The new weapons being integrated are the Brimstone, Maverick, Paveway III LGB and Paveway IV PGB missiles. Brimstone is an advanced air-launched Anti-tank guided missile developed by MBDA. The AGM-65 Maverick is an air-to-ground tactical missile (AGM designed for close air support Combat history The GBU-27 was used in Operation Desert Storm. The Raytheon Paveway IV is a new-generation dual mode GPS / INS and Laser guided bomb for use by Military aircraft.
The aircraft will also be fitted with Sniper targeting pods. The Lockheed Martin Sniper XR Advanced Targeting Pod (Sniper ATP provides positive target identification autonomous tracking coordinate generation and precise weapons guidance In July 2007, BAE Systems completed the final of seven Harrier GR9 replacement rear fuselages for the UK MoD. The fuselage components were designed and built as part of a three year £20 million programme. [3]
- GR9A
The Harrier GR9A is an avionics and weapons upgrade of the uprated engined GR7As.
- T10
The Harrier T10 is the original two seat training variant of the second-generation RAF Harrier. A trainer is an Aircraft used to develop piloting navigational or war-fighting skills in flight crew The RAF considered upgrading the first-generation Harrier trainer, the T4, to Harrier II standard. However due to the age of the airframes and the level of modification required, the service decided to order new build Harrier II trainers. The RAF used the USMC trainer, the TAV-8B, as the basis for the design. Unlike their American counterparts the T10s are fully combat capable. Thirteen aircraft were built.
- T12
With the upgrades bringing the GR7s to GR9 standard, the RAF requires representative trainers. These aircraft will be the T12, the T10s with the IWP upgrade.
Operators
- Royal Air Force
- No. 1 Squadron
- No. 3 Squadron (until 2006)
- No. IV Squadron
- No. 20 Squadron
- RAF SAOEU Strike Attack Operational Evaluation Unit
- Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm
Specifications (Harrier GR7)
Data from Norden[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 46 ft 4 in (14. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located No 1 (F Squadron is a Squadron of the Royal Air Force. It currently operates the Harrier GR7 from RAF Cottesmore. No 3 (F Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Typhoon F2 /FGR4 and T1 from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire No IV Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Harrier GR7 from RAF Cottesmore. No20 (R Squadron of the Royal Air Force is the current OCU ( Operational Conversion Unit) for the The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships The Naval Strike Wing is a flying unit of the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. 12 m)
- Wingspan: 30 ft 4 in (9. The wingspan (or just span) of an airplane or a Bird, is the distance from the left wingtip to the right wingtip 25 m)
- Height: 11 ft 8 in (3. 56 m)
- Wing area: 343 ft² (22. 6 m²)
- 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 [3] (8,595 kg VTO, 14,061 kg STO)
- Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Pegasus Mk. 105 turbofan with four thrust vectored exhaust nozzles, 21,750 lb (96. The Maximum Takeoff Weight or Maximum Takeoff Mass of an Aircraft is the maximum weight at which the pilot of the aircraft is allowed to attempt to take off WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A turbofan is a type of Jet engine, similar to a Turbojet. It essentially consists of a Ducted fan with a smaller diameter turbojet engine 7 kN)
- Upgraded powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Pegasus Mk. 107, 24,750 lb (104 kN) for GR7A
Performance
- Maximum speed: 662 mph (1,065 km/h)
- Combat radius: 300 nmi (556 km)
- Ferry range: 2,015 mi ()
- Service ceiling 50,000 ft (15,000 m)
- Rate of climb: 14,715 ft/min (74. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout In Aviation, V-speeds or Velocity-speeds are standard terms used to define Airspeeds important or useful to the operation of Aircraft, such For Aircraft, ferry range means the maximum range the aircraft can fly In Aeronautics, a ceiling is the maximum Density altitude an aircraft can reach under a set of conditions In Aerodynamics, the rate of climb RoC is the speed at which an Aircraft increases its Altitude. 8 m/s)
Armament
- Guns: 2x 30 mm ADEN cannons (one per pod)
- Rockets: CRV7 rocket pod
- Missiles: selection from Maverick, Brimstone, Sidewinder, ASRAAM
- Bombs: selection
from Paveway 2, Paveway III LGB, Paveway IV PGB, 540 lb gravity bomb, 1000 lb gravity bomb and 3 kg and 14 kg practice bombs
Avionics Joint Reconnaissance Pod
Popular culture
The Harrier's unique characteristics have led to it being featured a number of films and video games. The Royal Small Arms Factory ADEN is a 30 mm Cannon used on many Military aircraft, particularly those of the British Royal Air Force and The CRV7 is a 275 inch folding-fin ground attack Rocket produced by Bristol Aerospace in Winnipeg Manitoba. The AGM-65 Maverick is an air-to-ground tactical missile (AGM designed for close air support Brimstone is an advanced air-launched Anti-tank guided missile developed by MBDA. The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range Air-to-air missile carried by Fighter aircraft and recently certain gunship helicopters The AIM-132 Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile is a British Infrared homing ("heat seeking" Air-to-air missile. Paveway is a trademark of Raytheon Company which identifies its variants of Laser Guided Bombs (LGB Combat history The GBU-27 was used in Operation Desert Storm. The Raytheon Paveway IV is a new-generation dual mode GPS / INS and Laser guided bomb for use by Military aircraft. A gravity bomb is an Aircraft -delivered Bomb that does not contain a Guidance system and hence simply follows a ballistic Trajectory The Joint Reconnaissance Pod (or JRP is a tactical reconnaissance pod produced originally by W
See also
- Harrier Jump Jet, an overview of the Harrier family
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
References
- ^ House of Commons Hansard, [1] Written Answers], January 5, 2004. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout This is a list of currently-active Military aircraft in use by the United Kingdom. Events 1477 - Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "
- ^ Norden 2006, Appendix C.
- ^ RAF Cottesmore Station Harrier Specifications
- Norden, Lon O. Harrier II, Validating V/STOL. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2006. ISBN 1-59114-536-8.
External links
- Photographs of Harrier G R Mk 7 deployed aboard HMS Illustrious
- UK MoD Release lauds No. 1 Squadron & No. 3 Squadron's role in Afghanistan with GR7As (August 10, 2005)
- Defense Industry Daily: AV-8B Harrier finding Success in Iraq (March 30, 2005)
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