AV-8 Harrier II
| AV-8 Harrier II | ||
|---|---|---|
 April 7th 2003: an AV-8B Harrier takes off from on board the assault ship USS Nassau, to engage targets over Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom | ||
| Description | ||
| Role | Attack aircraft | |
| Crew | One | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Length | 46 ft 4 in | 14.1 m |
| Wingspan | 30 ft 4 in | 9.2 m |
| Height | 11 ft 9 in | 3.5 m |
| Wing area | ||
| Weights | ||
| Empty | 12,500 lb | 5,700 kg |
| Loaded | ||
| Maximum take-off | ||
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines | One Rolls Royce F402-RR-408 | |
| Power | ||
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | 629 mph | 1000 km/h |
| Combat range | ||
| Ferry range | ||
| Service ceiling | 50,000 feet | 15,000 m |
| Rate of climb | ||
| Armament | ||
| Guns | ||
| Bombs | ||
See also Hawker Siddeley Harrier
The AV-8B Harrier II, is a second generation, vertical/short takeoff and landing (VSTOL) light-attack jet aircraft used by the United States Marine Corps, Royal Air Force, Spanish Armada and Italian navy. The AV-8A was an unmodified Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.3 procured for the US Marine Corps. Primary mission of the AV-8B is to provide responsive close air support for ground forces. This single-piloted, advanced VSTOL aircraft can operate from short fields, forward sites, roads and surface ships providing minimum response time to targets.
Three AV-8B squadrons stationed about 40 miles (64 km) from the Kuwaiti border, were the most forward deployed tactical strike aircraft during Operation Desert Storm and operated from relatively unprepared sites. One AV-8B squadron and one six-aircraft detachment operated off the landing helicopter ship USS Nassau in the Persian Gulf. The average turnaround time during the ground war surge was 23 minutes. A total of 86 Marine Harriers flew 3,567 sorties against Iraqi targets in Kuwait and Iraq. Five Harriers were lost, four in combat. Following the war, Marine Corps analysis showed that the placement of the engine nozzles that allow for the Harrier's Vertical Take-Off/Landing made the aircraft far more vulnerable to infrared surface-to-air missile fire than other aircraft.
In the Iraq campaign of 2003, the Harrier II saw extensive usage by both the USMC and RAF. USMC Harriers were based on two USMC amphibious assault ships, USS Bataan (LHD-5) and USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6). Each carried 24 Harriers, about four times their normal complement of fixed wing aircraft, and tried out the long dormant secondary purpose of the LHDs and LHAs, that of a small aircraft carrier, or sea control ship. RAF Harriers were shore based in Kuwait. Two detachments from RAF Cottesmore were sent to the region, with one known to have been based at the al Jaber airbase in Kuwait, and the other at an undisclosed location. A total of 23 RAF Harriers took part in the campaign.
The current AV-8B Remanufacture Program converts older AV-8B day attack aircraft to the most recent production radar/night attack configuration. This radar-equipped version of the AV-8B, called the AV-8B+, became operational in the summer of 1994.
| Table of contents |
|
2 General Characteristics 3 Units Using the AV-8 Harrier II |
Variants
General Characteristics
Units Using the AV-8 Harrier II
USMC
RAF
| Related content | |
|---|---|
| Related Development | Hawker P.1127 - Hawker Kestrel - Hawker Siddeley Harrier - Sea Harrier |
| Similar Aircraft | |
| Designation Series | A-5 - A-6 - A-7 - AV-8 - YA-9 - A-10 - A-12 |
| Related Lists | List of military aircraft of the United States |
| List of Aircraft - Aircraft Manufacturers - Aircraft Engines - Aircraft Engine Manufacturers |
| Airlines - Air Forces - Aircraft Weapons - Missiles - Years in Aviation |