BAE Systems

64 The Aircraft of British Aerospace and BAE SYSTEMS 1977 - 2017

Harrier 2s in USMC

and RAF service

During US offensive operations in Kuwait in

1991, ‘Operation Desert Storm’, the Marine

Corps Harrier 2s demonstrated the Harrier’s

ability to operate from forward bases, from

a gravel runway only 100mls from the

Kuwaiti border, which traditional fixed-

wing aircraft could not do. The 66-stong

Harrier fleet flew over 3,000 sorties and

dropped almost 3,000 tons of ordnance.

The USMC Harriers 2s were also heavily

employed in ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’ in

2003 where they were more than 40% of

the Marines attack force and were based

on four assault ships on the Arabian Gulf. A

small fleet of USMC Harrier 2s took part in

the bombing of Yugoslavia and in 2011 in

the bombing of Libya during the operation

to overthrow Colonel Gaddafi. More

recently they were in regular use in

Afghanistan.

The RAF’s GR7s first combat use was in

Operation Deliberate Force, the UN

campaign over Bosnia in 1995. They flew

close air support missions, supporting

ground troops, carried out reconnaissance

and strike missions inside during the Iraq

War in 2003. The RAF’s Harriers served in

Afghanistan from 2004 until 2009; over five

years of continuous operations and flew

over 22,000 hours in 8,500 sorties.

Merging the RN and RAF fleets

In the 1998 Defence Review the RN Sea

Harriers and the RAF Harriers were merged

into a single joint command - yet full

integration was impracticable as the two

types had less than 20% airframe and

avionics commonality. The Review

concluded that upgrading the Sea Harriers

was not viable so the GR7s were upgraded

to GR9 standard and were issued to two

Fleet Air Arm squadrons as well as to the

RAF while the Sea Harriers were retired. This

resulted in the RN retaining fast jet

expertise and the carriers having greatly

enhanced offensive strike capability.

In the 2010 Strategic Defence Review

the Harriers and the aircraft carriers were

scrapped. The Harrier GR9s were sold for

spares to the US Marines.

Harrier production

The P1127s and Kestrels were constructed

at Kingston, assembled and flown from

Dunsfold. Following the development of

the Harrier for the RAF, Kingston built the

forward fuselage and Brough the rear

fuselage, taking over wing assembly from

Hamble in 1969. Dunsfold continued to

retain its role as the centre for final

assembly and flight test. With the closure

of the factory at Kingston in 1992, Harrier

forward fuselage production was passed to

Dunsfold which closed when production

of new-build Harriers ended in 2000. With

the completion at Brough of the final rear

fuselages for the GR9 upgrade in 2007,

British manufacture of the Harrier came to

an end after 48 years.

Conclusion

The Harrier was in the right place at the

Three RAF Harrier T10s, the trainer

version for the Harrier GR5.

(Hawker Archive)

The GR5 and GR7 Harriers were externally very similar, with most of

the differences being ‘under the skin’. External differences include the

FLIR mount on the upper surface of the GR7’s nose, plus the latter also

had Zeus ‘horns’ underneath the nose. (Hawker Archive)