British Aerospace Sea Harrier. The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier family developed. It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the "Shar". Unusual in an era in which most naval and land-based air superiority fighters were large and supersonic, the principal role of the subsonic Sea Harrier was to provide air defence for Royal Navy task groups centred around the aircraft carriers.

The Sea Harrier served in the Falklands War and the Balkans conflicts; on all occasions it mainly operated from aircraft carriers positioned within the conflict zone. Its usage in the Falklands War was its most high profile and important success, when it was the only fixed-wing fighter available to protect the British Task Force. The Sea Harriers shot down 20 enemy aircraft during the conflict; 2 Sea Harriers were lost to enemy ground fire. They were also used to launch ground attacks in the same manner as the Harriers operated by the Royal Air Force.

The Sea Harrier was marketed for sales abroad, but India was the only other operator after attempts to sell the aircraft to Argentina and Australia were unsuccessful. A second, updated version for the Royal Navy was made in 1993 as the Sea Harrier FA2, improving its air-to-air abilities and weapons compatibilities, along with a more powerful engine; this version was manufactured until 1998. The aircraft was withdrawn from service early by the Royal Navy in 2006, but remained in service with the Indian Navy for a further decade until its retirement in 2016.

Development

In the post-World War II era, the Royal Navy began contracting in size. By 1960, the last battleship, , was retired from the Navy, having been in service for less than fifteen years. In 1966 the planned CVA-01 class of large aircraft carriers was cancelled. During this time, requirements within the Royal Navy began to form for a vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) carrier-based interceptor to replace the de Havilland Sea Vixen. The first V/STOL tests on a ship began with a Hawker Siddeley P.1127 landing on  in 1963.

A second concept for the future of naval aviation emerged in the early 1970s when the first of a new class of "through deck cruisers" was planned. These were very carefully and politically designated as cruisers, deliberately avoiding the term "aircraft carrier" to increase the chances of funding in a political climate hostile to expensive capital ships. The resulting  carriers were considerably smaller than the CVA-01 design, but came to be widely recognised as aircraft carriers. Almost immediately upon their construction, a ski-jump was added to the end of the 170-metre deck, enabling the carriers to effectively operate a small number of V/STOL jets.

The naval staff were able to build an effective political argument for acquiring V/STOL aircraft on the grounds that anti-submarine groups operating in the NATO Atlantic area, the intended main role of the through-deck cruisers, would be vulnerable to attack by Soviet anti-ship missiles. These could be launched at a considerable distance by a submarine or surface ship but needed to be guided in by a maritime patrol aircraft; fast jets carried onboard would be able to shoot these down. No mention was made of the other capabilities that these aircraft would have.

The Royal Air Force's Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR1s had entered service in April 1969. A navalized variant of the Harrier was developed by Hawker Siddeley to serve on the upcoming ships; this became the Sea Harrier. In 1975, the Royal Navy ordered 24 Sea Harrier FRS.1 (standing for 'Fighter, Reconnaissance, Strike') aircraft, the first of which entered service in 1978. During this time, Hawker Siddeley became part of British Aerospace through nationalisation in 1977. By the time the prototype Sea Harrier was flown at Dunsfold on 20 August 1978, the order had been increased to 34. The Sea Harrier was declared operational in 1981 on board the first Invincible-class ship , and further aircraft joined the ageing  aircraft carrier later that year.

In 1984, approval was given to upgrade of the fleet to FRS.2 standard (later known as FA2) following the lessons learned during the aircraft's deployment in the 1982 Falklands War. The first flight of the prototype took place in September 1988 and a contract was signed for 29 upgraded aircraft in December that year. In 1990, the Navy ordered 18 new-build FA2s at a unit cost of around £12 million, four further upgraded aircraft were ordered in 1994. The first aircraft was delivered on 2 April 1993.

Design

The Sea Harrier is a subsonic aircraft designed for strike, reconnaissance and fighter roles. 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 gears on the wings. The Sea Harrier is equipped with four wing and three fuselage pylons for carrying weapons and external fuel tanks. The use of the ski jump allowed the aircraft to take off from a short flight deck with a heavier payload than would otherwise be possible, although it can also take off like a conventional loaded fighter without thrust vectoring from a normal airport runway.

The Sea Harrier was largely based on the Harrier GR3, but was modified to have a raised cockpit with a "bubble" canopy for greater visibility and an extended forward fuselage to accommodate the Ferranti Blue Fox radar. Parts were changed to use corrosion resistant alloys, or coatings were added, to protect against the marine environment. After the Falklands War, the Sea Harrier was fitted with the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile.

The Blue Fox radar was seen by some critics as having comparatively low performance for what was available at the time of procurement. The Sea Harrier FA2 was fitted with the Blue Vixen radar, which was described as one of the most advanced pulse doppler radar systems in the world. The Blue Vixen formed the basis of the Eurofighter Typhoon's CAPTOR radar. The Sea Harrier FA2 carried the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile, the first UK aircraft with this capability. An upgraded model of the Pegasus engine, the Pegasus Mk 106, was used in the Sea Harrier FA2. In response to the threat of radar-based anti-aircraft weapons electronic countermeasures were added. Other improvements included an increased air-to-air weapons load, look-down radar, increased range, and improved cockpit displays.

The Sea Harrier's cockpit includes a conventional centre stick arrangement and left-hand throttle. In addition to normal flight controls, the Harrier has a lever for controlling the direction of the four vectorable nozzles. The nozzles point rearward with the lever in the forward position for horizontal flight. With the lever back, the nozzles point downward for vertical takeoff or landing. The utility of the vertical landing capability of the Sea Harrier was demonstrated in an incident on 6 June 1983, when Sub Lieutenant Ian Watson lost contact with the aircraft carrier  and had to land Sea Harrier ZA176 on the foredeck of the Spanish cargo ship Alraigo.

In 1998, the UK Defence Evaluation and Research Agency test-fitted an FA2 with AVPRO UK Ltd's Exint pods, small underwing compartments intended to be used for deployment of special forces.

In 2005, a Sea Harrier was modified with an 'Autoland' system to allow the fighter to perform a safe vertical landing without any pilot interaction. Despite the pitching of a ship posing a natural problem, the system was designed to be aware of such data, and successfully performed a landing at sea in May 2005.

Operational history

Royal Navy

Entry into service
The first three Sea Harriers were a development batch and were used for clearance trials. The first production aircraft was delivered to RNAS Yeovilton in 1979 to form an Intensive Flying Trials Unit, 700A Naval Air Squadron. In March 1980, the Intensive Flying Trials Unit became 899 Naval Air Squadron and would act as the landborne headquarters unit for the type. The first operational squadron, 800 Naval Air Squadron, was also formed in March 1980, initially to operate from HMS Invincible before it transferred to HMS Hermes. In January 1981, a second operational squadron 801 Naval Air Squadron was formed to operate from HMS Invincible.

Falklands War

Sea Harriers took part in the Falklands War () of 1982, flying from HMS Invincible and HMS Hermes. The Sea Harriers performed the primary air defence role with a secondary role of ground attack; the RAF Harrier GR3 provided the main ground attack force. A total of 28 Sea Harriers and 14 Harrier GR3s were deployed in the theatre. The Sea Harrier squadrons shot down 20 Argentine aircraft in air-to-air combat with no air-to-air losses, although two Sea Harriers were lost to ground fire and four to accidents. Out of the total Argentine air losses, 28% were shot down by Harriers. One Sea Harrier alone, flown by RAF Flight Lieutenant David Morgan, shot down two Skyhawks in a single encounter.

A number of factors contributed to the failure of the Argentinian fighters to shoot down a Sea Harrier. Although the Mirage III and Dagger jets were faster, the Sea Harrier was considerably more manoeuvrable. Moreover, the Harrier employed the latest AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles and the Blue Fox radar. Contrary to contemporary reports that "viffing" proved decisive in dogfights, the maneuver was not used by RN pilots in the Falklands as it was only used in emergencies against enemies unfamiliar with the aircraft. The British pilots noticed Argentinian pilots occasionally releasing weapons outside of their operating parameters. This is now thought to have been Mirages (IAI Neshers) releasing external fuel tanks to improve their maneuverability for air combat.

British aircraft received fighter control from warships in San Carlos Water, although its effectiveness was limited by their being stationed close to the islands, which severely limited the effectiveness of their radar. The differences in tactics and training between 800 Squadron and 801 Squadron have been a point of criticism, suggesting that the losses of several ships were preventable had Sea Harriers from Hermes been used more effectively.

Both sides' aircraft were operating in adverse conditions. Argentine aircraft were forced to operate from the mainland because airfields on the Falklands were only suited for propeller-driven aircraft. The bombing of Port Stanley airport by a British Vulcan bomber was also a consideration in the Argentinians' decision to operate them from afar. As most Argentine aircraft lacked in-flight refuelling capability, they were forced to operate at the limit of their range. The Sea Harriers also had limited fuel reserves due to the tactical decision to station the British carriers out of Exocet missile range and the dispersal of the fleet. The result was that an Argentine aircraft only had five minutes over the islands to search for and attack an objective, while a Sea Harrier could stay near to 30 minutes waiting in the Argentine approach corridors and provide Combat Air Patrol coverage for up to an hour.

The Sea Harriers were outnumbered by the available Argentinian aircraft and were, on occasion, deterred by the activities of the Escuadrón Fénix or civilian jet aircraft used by the Argentine Air Force. They had to operate without a fleet airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system that would have been available to a full NATO fleet in which the Royal Navy had expected to operate, which was a significant weakness in the operational environment. It is now known that British units based in Chile did provide early radar warning to the Task Force. Nonetheless, the lack of AEW&C cover resulted in air superiority as opposed to air supremacy; the Sea Harriers could not prevent Argentine attacks during day or night nor could they completely stop the daily C-130 Hercules transports' night flights to the islands.

Operations in the 1990s

The Sea Harrier saw action in war again when it was deployed in the 1992–1995 Bosnian War. It launched raids on Serb forces and provided air-support for the international taskforce units conducting Operations Deny Flight and Deliberate Force against the Army of Republika Srpska. On 16 April 1994, a Sea Harrier of the 801 Naval Air Squadron, operating from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, was brought down by an Igla-1 surface-to-air missile fired by the Army of Republika Srpska while attempting to bomb two Bosnian Serb tanks. The pilot, Lieutenant Nick Richardson, ejected and landed in territory controlled by friendly Bosnian Muslims.

It was used again in the 1999 NATO campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in Operation Allied Force, where Sea Harriers operating from Invincible frequently patrolled the airspace to keep Yugoslavian MiGs on the ground. They were also deployed on board Illustrious in 2000 as part of Operation Palliser, the British intervention in Sierra Leone.

Retirement

The UK is procuring the STOVL F-35B to be operated from the Royal Navy's s.

The Sea Harrier was withdrawn from service in 2006 and the last remaining aircraft from 801 Naval Air Squadron were decommissioned on 29 March 2006. The MoD argued that significant expenditure would be required to upgrade the fleet for only six years of service to meet the F-35s then planned in-service date.

Both versions of Harrier experienced reduced engine performance (Pegasus Mk 106 in FA2 and Mk 105 in GR7) in the higher ambient temperatures of the Middle East, which restricted the weight of payload that the Harrier could return to the carrier in 'vertical' recoveries. This was due to the safety factors associated with aircraft landing weights. The option to install higher-rated Pegasus engines would not have been as straightforward as on the Harrier GR7 upgrade and would have likely been an expensive and slow process. Furthermore, the Sea Harriers were subject to a generally more hostile environment than land-based Harriers, with corrosive salt spray a particular problem. A number of aircraft were retained by the School of Flight Deck Operations at RNAS Culdrose.

The Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm would continue to share the other component of Joint Force Harrier. Harrier GR7 and the upgraded Harrier GR9 were transferred to Royal Navy squadrons in 2006, but were retired in 2010 due to budget cuts.

Although withdrawn from active Royal Navy service, Sea Harriers are used to train naval aircraft handlers at the Royal Navy School of Flight Deck Operations.

Indian Navy

In 1977, the Indian government approved plans to acquire the Sea Harrier for the Indian Navy. In November 1979, India placed its first order for six Sea Harrier FRS Mk 51 fighters and two T Mk 60 Trainers; the first three Sea Harriers arrived at Dabolim Airport on 16 December 1983, and were inducted the same year. Ten more Sea Harriers were purchased in November 1985; eventually a total of 30 Harriers were procured, 25 for operational use and the remainder as dual-seat trainer aircraft. Until the 1990s, significant portions of pilot training was carried out in Britain due to limited aircraft availability.

The introduction of the Sea Harrier allowed for the retirement of India's previous carrier fighter aircraft, the Hawker Sea Hawk, as well as for the Navy's aircraft carrier, , to be extensively modernised between 1987 and 1989. India has operated Sea Harriers from both the aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and INS Viraat. The Sea Harrier allowed several modern missiles to be introduced into naval operations, such as the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile, and the Matra Magic air-to-air missile. Other ordnance has included 68 mm rockets, runway-denial bombs, cluster bombs, and podded 30 mm cannons.

There have been a significant number of accidents involving the Sea Harrier; this accident rate has caused approximately half the fleet to be lost with only 11 fighters remaining in service. Following a crash in August 2009, all Sea Harriers were temporarily grounded for inspection. Since the beginning of operational service in the Indian Navy, seven pilots have died in 17 crashes involving the Sea Harrier, usually during routine sorties.

In 2006, the Indian Navy expressed interest in acquiring up to eight of the Royal Navy's recently retired Sea Harrier FA2s in order to maintain their operational Sea Harrier fleet. Neither the Sea Harrier FA2's Blue Vixen radar, the radar warning receiver or AMRAAM capability would have been included; certain US software would also be uninstalled prior to shipment. By October 2006, reports emerged that the deal had not materialised due to the cost of airframe refurbishment.

In 2006, the Indian Navy started upgrading up to 15 Sea Harriers, installing the Elta EL/M-2032 radar and the Rafael 'Derby' medium-range air-to-air BVR missile. This enabled the Sea Harrier to remain in Indian service beyond 2012. By 2009, crashes had reduced India's fleet to 12 (from original 30).

India purchased the deactivated Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov in 2004.  After refurbishment and trials, the ship was formally inducted into the Indian Navy as INS Vikramaditya in June 2014. Sea Harriers operated from INS Viraat for the last time on 6 March 2016.

On 11 May 2016, a ceremony was held at INS Hansa, Dabolim, Goa to commemorate the phasing out of Sea Harriers from INAS 300 "White Tigers" and their replacement by the MiG-29K/KUB fighters. Aircraft of both types performed an air display at the ceremony, marking the final flight of the Sea Harriers after 33 years of service in the Indian Navy. The Indian Navy operates MiG-29K/KUB STOBAR fighters from Vikramaditya.

Variants

Sea Harrier FRS.1
 57 FRS1s were delivered between 1978 and 1988; most survivors converted to Sea Harrier FA2 specifications from 1988.
Sea Harrier FRS.51
 Single-seat fighter, reconnaissance, and attack aircraft made for the Indian Navy, similar to the British FRS1.  Unlike the FRS1 Sea Harrier, it is fitted with Matra R550 Magic air-to-air missiles. These aircraft were later upgraded with the Elta EL/M-2032 radar and the Rafael Derby BVRAAM missiles.

Sea Harrier F(A).2
 Upgrade of FRS1 fleet in 1988, featuring the Blue Vixen pulse-doppler radar and the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile.

Operators

Indian Navy
Indian Naval Air Arm (1983–2016)
Indian Naval Air Squadron 300 (1983–2016)
Indian Naval Air Squadron 551 (1990–2005)
Indian Naval Air Squadron 552 (2005–2016)

Royal Navy
Fleet Air Arm (1978–2006)
800 Naval Air Squadron (1980–2004)
801 Naval Air Squadron (1981–2006)
809 Naval Air Squadron (1982)
899 Naval Air Squadron (1980–2005)
School of Flight Deck Operations (2006–2020)

Surviving aircraft

Several surviving Sea Harriers are held by museums and private owners, and some others are at the Royal Navy School of Flight Deck Operations at RNAS Culdrose and other military bases for training. The following is list of those not used by the military for training.

India
On display
Sea Harrier FRS 51 (IN-621) at the Naval Aviation Museum (India) in Goa, India
Sea Harrier T Mk.60 (IN-654) at the Rashtriya Indian Military College in Dehradun, India.
Sea Harrier FRS 51 (IN-606) at the Sea Harrier Museum in Visakhapatnam, India.
Sea Harrier FRS 51 (IN-617) at Bandstand Promenade, Bandra in Mumbai, India.

United Kingdom
In use
The Royal Navy School of Flight Deck Operations still uses Harriers to train Aircraft Handlers on the dummy deck at RNAS Culdrose.  Many are in a working condition, although in a limited-throttle setting.  Although they are unable to fly, they still produce a loud sound to aid training.

On display
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZD610 at Aerospace Bristol
]Sea Harrier FA.2 XZ457 at the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection, Old Sarum, Wiltshire
Sea Harrier FRS.1 XZ493 at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, Somerset
Sea Harrier FA.2 XZ494 at the Castle Farm Camping and Caravanning, Wedmore, Somerset
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZA175 at the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton, Norfolk.
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZA176 at the Newark Air Museum, Newark, Nottinghamshire
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZD607 at the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency, Bicester, Oxfordshire
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZD613 on the roof of a building at the Cross Green Industrial Estate, Leeds, West Yorkshire
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZE691 at Woodford Park Industrial Estate, Winsford, Cheshire
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZE694 at the Midland Air Museum, Coventry, Warwickshire
Sea Harrier FA.2 XZ459 at Tangmere Military Aviation Museum in West Sussex, arrived in 2020

Stored or under restoration
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZH803, formerly at SFDO at RNAS Culdrose, is owned by FLY HARRIER Ltd. and gained civil registration with the CAA on 7 August 2019 as G-RNFA. As of July 2020, it is listed as being at St Athan Airport in Wales.
Sea Harrier FA.2 XZ497 with a private collection at Charlwood, Surrey
Sea Harrier FA.2 XZ499 with the Fleet Air Arm Museum storage facility Cobham Hall, Yeovilton
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZD582 with a private collection at Aynho, Northamptonshire
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZD612 with a private collection at Topsham, Devon 
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZD614 with a private collection Walcott, Lincolnshire
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZE697 at the former RAF Binbrook, Lincolnshire (as of 2016)
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZE698 with a private collection at Charlwood, Surrey
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZH798, formerly at RNAS Culdrose, was auctioned off in 2020 to Jet Art Aviation, who restored the aircraft to be taxi- and ground-run capable.
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZH799 with a private collection at Ballarat, Australia.
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZH806, ZH810, and ZH812 with a dealer near Ipswich, Suffolk

United States
Airworthy
Sea Harrier FA2 registered N94422 (formerly Royal Navy serial number XZ439) Nalls Aviation, St Mary's County, Maryland. The former Royal Navy Sea Harrier FA2 was purchased in 2006 by Art Nalls, who spent the next two years restoring it to flying condition. In December 2007, it was damaged in a hard landing, while undergoing testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River and had to be repaired. The aircraft made its first public appearance at an air show in Culpeper, Virginia, in October 2008. The aircraft is the only privately owned, civilian-flown Harrier in the world.

Specifications (Sea Harrier FA.2)

Notable appearances in media

The Harrier's unique characteristics have led to it being featured a number of films and video games.

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

 

 Chant, Chris. Air War in the Falklands 1982 (Osprey Combat Aircraft #28). Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2001. .
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Further reading

External links

 British Aerospace Sea Harrier
 Sea Harrier Still Alive and Kicking (archive article)
 List of surviving Sea Harriers: Demobbed – Out of Service British Military Aircraft

Sea Harrier
1970s British attack aircraft
1970s British fighter aircraft
Carrier-based aircraft
V/STOL aircraft by thrust vectoring
Harrier Jump Jet
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Aircraft first flown in 1978
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Third-generation jet fighters
Aircraft with retractable bicycle landing gear