McDonnell Douglas AV-8

McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
AV-8B Harrier II + of the United States Marine Corps on the USS Nassau
Type:	VTOL - ground attack aircraft
Design country:	United States  United Kingdom
Manufacturer:	McDonnell Douglas (until 1997) Boeing IDS (since 1997) BAE Systems
First flight:	November 9, 1978
Commissioning:	January 12, 1985
Production time:	1981 to 2003
Number of pieces:	323

The McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II is a vertical take-off fighter aircraft and represents the second generation of the British Hawker Siddeley Harrier .

Development and history

McDonnell Douglas began developing the AV-8 "Harrier II" in the late 1970s after the United States Marine Corps (USMC) requested a more powerful version. It should be possible to use a larger arsenal of weapons and, in particular, improve survivability in aerial combat. In addition, general improvements in flight performance, particularly in operational range, and more modern avionics were required. Two AV-8A were converted and named YAV-8B. The first flight took place on November 9, 1978. Since British Aerospace could not finance its own further developments already started in 1976 and two GR.3 "Harrier" retrofitted in 1979, the "Harrier II" from McDonnell Douglas joined a year later . After the experience with the Sea Harriers in the Falklands War , further modifications were made to the avionics, the engines and the weapon systems. The more powerful engines allow a larger take-off mass and a larger number of available weapons. The newer avionics and a modern glass cockpit simplified the work of the pilot. The USMC was able to put the first "Harrier II" into service on January 12, 1985. The British version of the Harrier II, the Harrier GR.5, manufactured by BAE Systems, made its maiden flight on April 30, 1985 and entered service in July 1987. In addition to the USMC, the Harrier II is also used by the Spanish and Italian navies . The British Royal Navy (RN) uses a further developed variant of the Hawker Siddeley "Sea Harrier" , the FA.2. The British Royal Air Force (RAF), however, relies on a land-based variant of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.3 , the Harrier GR.5 now built by BAe.

Experience of the RAF and the RN in the Falklands War flowed into the development of the AV-8B Harrier II Plus. In this the Harrier had proven its basic suitability for air combat. Therefore, the USMC demanded that the Harrier II should also be able to use new long-range air-to-air guided missiles. For this, the Raytheon-AN / APG-65 radar had to be installed, which was only possible by enlarging the bow. This makes it possible to use the Raytheon AIM-120B "AMRAAM" , which means that the Harrier has BVR capabilities for the first time . Furthermore, the Northrop Grumman Litening II "targeting and reconnaissance pod" was installed, which also enables the use of laser-guided bombs. The USMC put the first Harrier II Plus into service in June 1993. The Harrier GR.9 is comparable to the Harrier II Plus.

The Harrier II went through several combat value increases during its service , which significantly increased its performance. The latest version is to remain in use in some countries until around 2020. After that, the F-35B Lightning II will replace the Harrier in the US and Italy. In Great Britain it was decided in December 2010 for cost reasons to shut down all Harrier II of the RAF and RN; long before the arrival of the F-35C. In November 2011, the US Marine Corps then bought almost all of the decommissioned British Harrier aircraft, a total of 72 aircraft, as a spare parts donor .

variants

US variants

Prototype YAV-8B in July 1979

AV-8B landing

YAV-8B prototype of the Harrier II. Two AV-8A were converted for flight tests.

AV-8B "Harrier II" Initial version of the Harrier II. Used by the US Marine Corps and the Italian Navy , which received 16 units.

AV-8B "Night Attack Harrier II" Upgraded version with thermal imaging device (FLIR) , which was put into service in 1991 (corresponds roughly to the British GR.7 variant).

AV-8B "Harrier II Plus" These upgraded AV-8B Harrier II are equipped with Raytheon APG-65 radar and Northrop Grumman Litening II "targeting and reconnaissance pod". All AV-8Bs in Italy and Spain have been converted.

EAV-8B Harrier II variant of the AV-8B Harrier II for the Spanish Navy, which received 20 machines.

EAV-8B Matador II Two-seat trainer variant of the TAV-8B Harrier II for the Spanish Navy.

TAV-8B Harrier II Two-seat trainer version of the AV-8B for the US Marine Corps (22 pieces) and the Italian Navy (2 pieces).

British variants

Harrier GR.5 The GR.5 was the first version of the second generation of the Harrier for the Royal Air Force (RAF) . BAE's first production aircraft made its maiden flight on April 30, 1985 and entered service in July 1987. The GR.5 differed from the AV-8B in a few ways, for example in terms of avionics, armament and equipment for electronic countermeasures. 41 GR.5 were built.

Harrier GR.5A This slightly improved variant of the GR.5 already received parts of the GR.7 upgrade. 21 of these were built.

Two Harrier GR.7 of the IV. Squadron of the RAF at the start

Harrier GR.7 The GR.7 is a further improved variant of the Harrier. Its first flight took place in May 1990, it was used from 1997 (test from 1994) on the aircraft carriers of the Invincible class . 34 units were built from 1990 to 1992, the last single-seater built Harrier from British production. Then there were the modernized GR.5 and GR.5A.

Harrier GR.7A The first stage of the conversion to the standard of the GR9 was designated as the GR7A. It received the more powerful Rolls Royce Pegasus Mk 107 engine. The new engine delivered about 13 kN more thrust, which increased the payload, especially under extreme climatic conditions such as those in Afghanistan, and reduced the costs for operations (less maintenance, landing without dropping unused weapons). 40 GR.7 were converted in this way.

Harrier GR.9 In the GR.9 standard, the avionics were improved and new weapons could be used. This upgrade (also known as Integrated Weapons Program , IWP) allowed Harriers to use precision-guided ammunition and avionics with new inertial and GPS navigation (INS / GPS) and use of the sniper target container.

Harrier GR.9A Former GR.7A with the Mk-107 engine, which were later brought to the GR.9 standard with regard to avionics and weapon usability, retained the letter A and were designated as GR.9A .

Harrier T.10 On the basis of the TAV-8B 1994/1995 newly built two-seat trainer version for the RAF, which, however, unlike the TAV-8B, is fully combat-ready. 14 units were built, the last Harrier ever built from a British production.

Harrier T.12 Modernized T.10 that have been brought to the GR.9 standard.

Technical specifications

3-sided tear

A U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II + landing on USS Nassau (LHA-4)

Parameter	AV-8B Harrier II + specifications
crew	1
length	14.55 m
span	9.25 m
height	3.56 m
Wing area	22.18 m²
Wing extension	3.78
Empty mass	6,764 kg
normal takeoff mass	VTO: k. A. STO: 10,728 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	VTO: 9,415 kg STO: 14,061 kg
Wing loading	minimum (empty weight): 305 kg / m² nominal (normal takeoff weight): 484 kg / m² (STO) maximum (maximum takeoff weight): 634 kg / m² (STO)
Tank capacity	3,430 kg or 4,320 l (internal)
Fuel ratio	0.32
drive	a turbofan engine Rolls-Royce Pegasus -F402-RR-408 / Mk-107 with 105.87 kN thrust
Thrust-to-weight ratio	maximum (empty weight): 1.60 nominal (normal takeoff mass): 1.01 (STO) minimum (maximum takeoff mass): 0.77 (STO)
Top speed	Mach 0.91 at optimal altitude Mach 0.86 at sea level
Service ceiling	15,240 m
Use radius	556 km
Range	1,780 km

Armament

Guns mountable in lower hull containers

• 1 × 25 mm Gatling automatic cannon General Dynamics GAU 12 / U "Equalizer" with 300 rounds of ammunition (AV-8B only)
• 2 × 30 mm revolver automatic cannons Royal Small Arms Factory ADEN Mk.4 each in an external container with 130 rounds of ammunition each (only size 5/7/9)

Disposable weapons at external load stations

Armament up to 7,000 kg at seven external load stations under the two wings and the fuselage

Air-to-air guided missile

• 4 × LAU-38 start rails with BOL decoyser Raytheon AIM-9L / M "Sidewinder" - infrared-guided for short distances
• 4 × LAU-128 start rails with BOL decoyser Raytheon AIM-120B "AMRAAM" - radar-guided for medium-range routes (only AV-8B +)

Air-to-surface guided missile

• 2 × LAU-117 launch rails with Raytheon AGM-65D / E / G2 / H "Maverick" - infrared-guided against hardened moving targets
• 2 × LAU-117 launch rails with Raytheon AGM-65JX "Maverick" - electro-optically guided against hardened moving targets

Unguided air-to-surface missiles

• 4 × BAe LAU-5003 rocket launchers for 19 × unguided CRV-7 air-to-surface missiles each ; Caliber 70 mm (only Harrier size 5/7/9)
• 6 × LAU-68/69 rocket launchers for 7 × unguided FFAR air-to-surface missiles each ; Caliber 70 mm
• 6 × LAU-10 / A rocket launchers for 4 × unguided Zuni air-to-ground missiles each ; Caliber 127 mm

Guided bombs

• 4 × GBU-12 Paveway II (laser-guided bomb; 227 kg)
• 4 × Raytheon "Paveway IV" (laser, GPS and INS-guided 227 kg / 611 lb glide bomb, based on a Mk.82 explosive bomb with control at the front and a steering set at the rear) (Harrier Gr. 7/9)
• 2 × Raytheon "Paveway II +" (laser-, GPS- guided 454 kg / 1000 lb glide bomb, based on an explosive bomb Royal Ordnance MC / GP Mk.10) (Harrier size 7/9 only)
• 4 × GBU-32 (V) 2 / B "Joint Direct Attack Munitions" ( JDAM , 454 kg bomb guided by satellite navigation) (AV-8B + only)
• 4 × GBU-38 / B Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM, satellite-guided 227 kg bomb) (AV-8B + only)
• 4 × GBU-54 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM, laser and satellite navigation-guided 227 kg bomb) (AV-8B + only)

Unguided bombs

• 16 × Mark 82 LDGP (227 kg / 500 lb free fall bomb )
• 7 × Royal Ordnance MC / GP Mk.20 (540 lb / 245 kg free fall bomb with airburst detonator) (only Harrier size 5/7/9)
• 6 × Mk 83 LDGP (454 kg / 1000 lb free-fall bomb)
• 6 × Royal Ordnance MC / GP Mk.10 (454 kg / 1000 lb free fall bomb) (Harrier size 5/7/9 only)
• 10 × Mk.77 Mod 2 (230 kg / 500 lb napalm firebomb)
• 10 × Mark 20 "Rockeye II" (CBU-100, 222 kg / 490 lb anti-tank cluster bomb with 247 Mk.118 bomblets)
• 6 × Hunting Engineering BL755 (264 kg anti-tank cluster bomb with 7 × 21 bomblets)

Additional container

• 4 × drop-off auxiliary tanks for 1136 liters (300 US gallons) JP-5 kerosene
• 4 × drop-off additional tanks for 330 us gal kerosene
• 4 × additional fuel tanks for 370 us gal kerosene
• 2 × CNU-188 / A luggage containers
• 1 × target lighting container Northrop Grumman AN / AAQ-28 Litening II "targeting and reconnaissance pod"
• 1 × target light container Lockheed Martin AN / AAQ-33 "Sniper ATP"
• 1 × Digital Joint Reconnaissance (DJRP) reconnaissance container (Harrier size 7/9 only)
• 1 × reconnaissance container Finten VICON 18 Series 601GR (1) (only Harrier size 5)
• 1 × flare container TERMA MCP-H AIRCM (only Harrier size 5/7/9)

Users

User states

 Italy

Marina Militare

16 AV-8B + / 2 TAV-8B Harrier II

 Spain

Armada Española

20 EAV-8B + / EAV-8B Night Attack / 1 TAV-8B Matador

 United States

United States Marine Corps

161 AV-8B Day Attack

66 AV-8B Night Attack

116 AV-8B + (42 new and 74 modified day attack machines)

22 TAV-8B Harrier II

Previous users were:

 United Kingdom

Royal Air Force (plus Royal Navy )

For details on the aircraft procured, see the section on the British variants above; the aircraft were initially procured and operated by the RAF and later “pooled”.

Station locations in Germany

• Royal Air Force Germany
  • RAF Gütersloh , March 1989 to November 1992, Harrier GR5 / GR5A / GR7 ( 3rd and 4th Squadron )
  • RAF Laarbruch , November 1992 to May 1999, Harrier GR7 / T10 ( 3rd and 4th Squadron )

Note: With the conversion to the second Harrier generation, the squadron strength of the Harrier Force was reduced from a nominal 18 to 12 aircraft.

Web links

Commons : AV-8B Harrier II  - Album containing pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Christopher P. Cavas: US To Buy Decommissioned British Harrier Jets ( Memento from July 29, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ). Defense News, Nov. 13, 2011.
2. ↑ Dominic Perry: UK Harrier fleet sold as £ 115 million worth of spare parts . Flightglobal , November 24, 2011.