The
McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a family of second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing or
V/STOL ground-attack aircraft of the late 20th century. It is primarily used for light attack or multi-role tasks, typically operated from small
aircraft carriers and large
amphibious assault ships.
Although the AV-8B Harrier II shares the designation with the earlier AV-8A/C Harrier, the AV-8B was extensively redesigned from the previous-generation
Harrier GR.1A/AV-8A/C by
McDonnell Douglas.
British Aerospace joined the improved Harrier project in the early 1980s, and it has been managed by
Boeing/
BAE Systems since the 1990s.
The AV-8B is used by the
United States Marine Corps. The British
Harrier GR7/GR9 versions are used by the
Royal Air Force and
Royal Navy. Versions are also used by
NATO countries: Spain, and Italy. The Harrier models are commonly referred to as the "
Harrier Jump Jet".
Development
The
Harrier II is notable as an example of US-UK cooperation and of
Cold War defense achievements. Of note is the U.S aid funding early development of the
Hawker P.1127 under the Mutual Weapons Development Program (MWDP), and the salvaging of what was left of the
AV-16 Advanced Harrier Program by McDonnell Douglas, making the second-generation family possible.
McDonnell Douglas had restarted its own program which was nearing production status when
British Aerospace (BAe) rejoined the program in the 1980s. They then jointly produced the aircraft. By the 1990s McDonnell Douglas merged with
Boeing, and BAe was merged into
BAE Systems who went on to manage the family into the early 21st century.
The AV-8B had its direct origins in a joint British-U.S. project (Hawker-Siddeley and McDonnell Douglas) for a much-improved
Harrier aircraft, the AV-16. However cost over-runs in engine development on the part of
Rolls-Royce and in the aircraft development caused the British to pull out of the program.
Interest remained in the U.S., so a less ambitious, though still expensive project was undertaken by McDonnell on their own catered to U.S. needs. Using knowledge gleaned from AV-16 development, though dropping some items such as further
Pegasus development, the development work continued leading to the AV-8B for the U.S. Marine Corps. The aircraft was centered on the Marines' need for a light ground attack aircraft and focused on payload and range, instead of speed. In the early 1980s, the British rejoined the program and developed their own second generation Harrier from the U.S. design.
The first two YAV-8B prototypes were converted from existing AV-8A airframes.
Aircraft were built by McDonnell Douglas and British Aerospace (later BAE Systems), the latter at their
Kingston and
Dunsfold facilities in
Surrey, in the
UK.
Design
The AV-8B Harrier II is a subsonic attack aircraft.
[Jenkins 1998, pp. 69-74.] It features a single
Rolls-Royce Pegasus turbofan engine with two intakes and four vectorable nozzles. It has two landing gear on the fuselage and two outrigger landing gear on the wings. The AV-8B is equipped with six wing and three fuselage
hardpoints for carrying a 25 mm
GAU-12 cannon, other weapons and external fuel tanks.
[Spick and Gunston 2000, pp. 366–370, 387-409.]The first AV-8B Harrier IIs produced were commonly known as the "Day Attack" variant, and are no longer in service. Most were upgraded to
Night Attack Harrier or
Harrier II Plus standards, with the remainder being withdrawn from service.
The main attack
avionics system is the Hughes nose-mounted
AN/ASB-19.
Fielded in 1991, the
Night Attack Harrier incorporated a
Navigation Forward Looking Infrared camera (NAVFLIR). The cockpit was also upgraded, including compatibility with
night vision goggles. Concurrent with the new version of the aircraft was introduced a more powerful Rolls Royce Pegasus II engine. It was originally intended to be designated AV-8D.
The
Harrier II Plus is very similar to the Night Attack variant, with the addition of an
APG-65 radar in an extended nose, making it capable of operating advanced missiles such as the
AIM-120 AMRAAM. The radars were removed from early
F/A-18 Hornets, which had been upgraded with the related APG-73. The Harrier II Plus is in service with the USMC,
Spanish Navy, and
Italian Navy.
The AV-8B cockpit was also used for the early trialling of
Direct Voice Input (DVI) using a system developed by
Smiths Industries.
The AV-8B (Harrier II Plus) also introduced beyond-visual-range missile capability.
Operational history
The AV-8B Harrier II is used by the military forces of three nations. The
United States Marine Corps has operated the AV-8B and TAV-8B since 1985. The
Spanish Naval air wing (
Arma Aerea De La Armada) operates the AV-8B and AV-8B+, as well as a leased TAV-8B. The
Italian Navy air wing (
Aviazione di Marina Militare) also uses the AV-8B+ and TAV-8B. See
BAE Harrier II for British Royal Air Force and Royal Navy usage.
Between 1969 and 2003, 824 Harrier variants were delivered. While manufacture of new Harriers concluded in 1997, the last aircraft (Harrier II Plus configuration) was delivered in December 2003 which ended the Harrier production line.
Variants
A US Marine Corps TAV-8B Harrier II.
YAV-8B : Two prototypes converted from existing AV-8A airframes.
AV-8B Harrier II : "Day Attack" variant; no longer in service. Most were upgraded to one of the following two variants, while the remainder were withdrawn from service.
AV-8B Harrier II Night Attack : Fielded in 1991; incorporates a Navigation Forward Looking Infrared camera (NAVFLIR). Upgraded cockpit, including compatibility with night vision goggles. More powerful Rolls Royce Pegasus 11 engine.
AV-8B Harrier II Plus : Similar to the Night Attack variant, with the addition of an APG-65 radar. It is used by the USMC, Spanish Navy, and Italian Navy.
TAV-8B Harrier II : Two-seat
trainer version.
EAV-8B Matador II : Company designation for the Spanish Navy version.
See
BAE Harrier II for the UK military version.
Operators
- Italian Navy has 15 AV-8B+ in service as of January 2009.
["World Military Aircraft Inventory". 2009 Aerospace Source Book. Aviation Week and Space Technology, January 2009.]
- * Gruppo Aerei Imbarcati "The Wolves"
- Spanish Navy has 13 AV-8B+ aircraft in use as of January 2009.
Specifications (AV-8B+ Harrier II Plus)
Orthographic projection of the AV-8B Harrier II.
Popular culture
The Harrier's unique characteristics have led to it being featured in a number of films and video games.
See also
