DCI Gene Hunt

£12Million per unit

DCI Gene Hunt

Had the pulse doppler radar as well, that was the basis of the new Typhoon unit.

Sosbanite

Love the paintwork

ricardo

Is it just me, or does the black radome make it look stupid ?
I know there must be a reason they can't paint that bit for operational use, it just looks wrong....

SunnySideUp

It kept many Designers and Engineers in work and developing their skills .... good value!

what would scooby do

Aye the old blue vixen. Watched some of the testing in the late 80's.. got to love those LRU's - impossible for a computer geek to make a sortable database of them

DaveD

iTrader: (2)

I remember seeing that harrier in the hangar at Yeovilton in early 2006, just after it had been taken out of service (not even seeing 7 years of use). The engine had already been removed, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the airframe.

Was a real shame that they withdrew the Sea Harriers early - they were a true interceptor aircraft, unlike the GR7 / 9 which are mainly for ground support. The MoD couldn't get rid of the engines quick enough - if they'd been able to bury them in a big hole in the ground, they would have. I think there are several gate guardians with near-complete Mk106 engines fitted!! I believe a number of aircraft are still kept for ground running so that pilots can practice thier ship parking.

A pic of me and a work collegue in 801's hangar, weeks before the end of SHar ops.

BOB.T

There's a guy near here has two in his garden! I noticed the other day that a Lightning nose had appeared too!

ScoobyDriverWannabe

Would look better in p1 blue

DaveD

iTrader: (2)

The MoD came fairly close to selling a load of their FA2s to the Indian Navy, but various issues prevented that from happening. The Indians tend to write off several of their harriers each year in accidents and are gradually running out of serviceable FRS1s as a result!

Hard to believe that some of the FA2 aircraft weren't even 10 years old when taken out of use.

Meanwhile, a number of RAF Harriers have been upgraded to GR9, which should keep them in use for a fair few years yet.

BigAl024

The Navy Harriers were in a terrible state through corrosion.

BigAl024

The FA2s were the same A/C as the FA1 AFAIK, just with some upgrades. Same frame.

A mate of mine worked on RAF Harriers. He said that he thought the RAF GR7/9's were fooked.......until he saw the Sea Harriers.

BigAl024

Plus I bet the F-14's prob had less hours on them, than the Harriers. The yanks prob had more F-14's than we had fast jets in our whole Military, hence more A/C to rotate on land/at sea.

Steve vRS

So with no Sea Harriers, what do the Fleet Air Arm do for intercept and dogfighting?

Steve

Steve vRS

Let's hope the Argentinians don't read this thread!

Steve

JRFRACE

the joint strike fighter is supposed to be our next navy fastjet isn't it? as and when the ships are built for it, and it ever actually comes into service which is probably a while away yet! the harrier was always a bit of a problem for the intercepter role because of its maximum speed wasn't it? ground attack its more suitable for as far as i know

DCI Gene Hunt

JSF already has a 150 unit order against it and it's on target for delivery.

DaveD

iTrader: (2)

A number of the FRS1s were converted to FA2s by a cut 'n' shut to lengthen the airframe to add more equipment for their interceptor role. As mentioned, a load of brand new FA2s were built in the late 1990s, although they were to the same basic analogue design as the earlier model. The aircraft spent most of their time at Yeovilton, so corrosion was never really an issue (the plane was designed to operate in a sea environment anyway).

The Mk106 engine did struggle at altitude an in high temps - hence one of the fundamental reasons why none of the FA2s went to India. The Mk107 Pegasus fitted to the RAF GR7A / 9A is far more capable in hot / high conditions. The RAF Harrier II design is also a completely different beast to the Sea Harrier, with many composite panels and larger wing span to allow it to carry more ordinance etc.

BigAl024

They stick Sidewinder/Asraam On the RAF GR9's. Dont think they can carry Amraam, because they have no decent Radar so to speak.

Not ideal

Leslie

When you mention waste Nat, what do you reckon about the 8 Chinooks which were bought and because they thought it would be cheaper, decided to fit home brewed operational equipment into instead of buying them fitted with tried and tested equipment.

Turns out it would not work so the choppers have been sitting unused in a hanger ever since!

Les

Leslie

Exactly!

Les