It was announced yesterday that the entire UK Harrier force is to be retired early. All flying will have ceased by 1 Apr 2011. As someone who has had the privilege to be involved with this great aircraft, I must confess I'm totally gutted by the decision.
-
This is an interesting article about the aircraft on the BBC web site: Link
-
6 comments:
That is sad, but aren't Harriers pretty tough on maintenance?
Eli
They are no tougher than Tornados, and in fact are more reliable and cheaper to operate.
Wonder if they will be selling them off to other countries?
I thought the Harriers biggest limitation was their flight range;
only about 300km with a vertical and horizontal take off ?
Eli
The UK doesn't have a history of storing its aircraft like the US does, so yes I imagine we will try to sell them on.
Clovis
Range has never been that big an issue with the Harrier. BTW they only ever do vertical take-offs at airshows, fully laden (bombed up) a Harrier can't take off vertically. They can land vertically with some ordanance provided the fuel tanks are empty.
Post a Comment