The U.S. military AV-8B fighter
The AV-8B fighter is developed by the United States based on the "Harrier" fighter. It has almost no requirements for take-off and landing sites and can easily complete the task. Vertical takeoff and landing. Initially, the U.S. Marine Corps treated this fighter as its main force and tasked it with close fire support. But when the F-35B fighter jets entered service one after another, this fighter jet entered the process of retirement. However, even so, the United States did not give up the AV-8B because it had other uses.
To be honest, the AV-8B is a classic fighter aircraft born during the Cold War. At that time, the two major powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, continued to engage in fierce confrontations for hegemony, in which air competition was very important. However, the use of fighter aircraft faces a very obvious shortcoming, that is, it requires the cooperation of the runway to operate. Once it loses its support, it will become a "lamb to be slaughtered."
What is even more noteworthy is that both the United States and the Soviet Union have jet fighters, which puts forward higher requirements for indicators such as runway length. This is a new situation that all parties must pay attention to.
In view of this, many countries have focused on developing new fighter aircraft with vertical take-off and landing capabilities. At that time, some technicians proposed the idea of ??allowing aircraft to fly with rocket boosters. However, on the one hand, there was a huge real risk of rocket explosions, and on the other hand, the huge cost was an insurmountable gap.
Faced with this challenge, the United Kingdom first obtained the corresponding technology, and then the classic "Harrier" fighter aircraft in the Falklands naval battle appeared. After learning of its good performance during the war, the United States immediately decided to introduce this fighter and its related patents from the United Kingdom, and based on this, launched the AV-8B fighter nicknamed "Harrier I". In essence, the AV-8B should be defined as an attack aircraft. It is close to the Harrier fighter in appearance, but it is equipped with completely different weapons and other systems.
The AV-8B fighter jet is equipped with a "Pegasus" engine with four nozzles. When performing a flight mission, the entire nozzle blows backwards. Once it lands vertically, the nozzle also immediately rotates 90 degrees. The AV-8B fighter jet is 14.11 meters long and has a wingspan of 9.24 meters. It has a maximum take-off carrying capacity of 14 tons and a combat radius limit of more than 800 kilometers. Overall, the aircraft is similar in size to the FC-1 fighter, but due to the smaller load, its role is not outstanding.
In terms of weapons, the AV-8B is equipped with a Gatling cannon on the belly. It also has a forward-looking optical computer aiming system and millimeter-wave radar that can calculate angles and other data by itself. This radar can guide the "Brimstone" air-to-ground anti-tank missiles and has strong close fire support performance. In addition to being equipped with light anti-tank missiles, the AV-8B can also be loaded with a variety of bombs to carry out fire strikes on reinforced concrete structures. In terms of air combat, the AV-8B fighter can use the AIM-9L/M Type air-to-air missiles for air defense, which was fully reflected in the Falklands naval battle. Of course, vertical takeoff and landing is the most worthy merit of the AV-8B fighter. Because of this, the United States will pay more attention to it and even fantasized about selling it to Taiwan. However, the American idea is too unrealistic. .