The Harrier is the world's first practical vertical, short take-off and landing aircraft first equipped by the British Air Force. It was developed by the original British Hawker Aircraft Company (now merged into British Aerospace) and Bristol Designed by Aero Engine Company (merged into Rolls-Royce). Equipped with the troops in April 1969, it has a length of 13.89 meters, a height of 3.45 meters, a maximum take-off weight of 11.34 tons, and a maximum flight speed of 0.97 times the speed of sound. It is a subsonic aircraft with a combat radius of only 92 to 660 kilometers. Its airborne equipment includes inertial navigation and attack systems, weapons targeting computers and electronic warfare devices. The airborne weapons include two 30mm cannons, and can also carry various aerial bombs and aerial rockets. When the aircraft takes off and land vertically, the fuel consumption increases, which will seriously affect the range and bomb load! !
The "Harrier" aircraft adopts a swept upper monoplane with dihedral angle, a "Pegasus" engine, and four jets at the front and rear of the fuselage that can rotate from 0° to 98.5°, providing The dynamic lift and thrust required for vertical take-off and landing, transitional flight and conventional flight. The wing tips, tail and nose have jet reaction nozzles to control the attitude of the aircraft and improve stall performance. "Harrier" has the characteristics of good mid- and low-altitude performance, flexible maneuverability, decentralized configuration, and the ability to quickly move along with the battle line. Its biggest disadvantages are its small range and activity radius during vertical take-off, its small bomb load, and its difficult logistical support when used on land.
There are many models, mainly GRMK1, GRMK1A and GRMK3; TMK2, TMK2A, TMK4, TMK4A and TMK8N; MK50, GRMK5, MK52, MK54, MK55, MK60 and "Sea Harrier" FRSMK1 and FRSMK2; among which MK50 Model of the AV-8A equipped for the U.S. Air Force in 1971! Later, the United States purchased the patent for this model and improved it, and then the United Kingdom purchased advanced modified aircraft from the United States; the US military later equipped about 300 AV-8Bs, mainly equipped with the Marine Corps and National Guard;
This aircraft once stole the show in the Falklands naval battle! However, due to its limited bomb load and combat radius, it can only be used as a light support attack aircraft;