Known affectionately in the RNAS as the 'Shar', the BAE Aerospace Sea Harrier VTOL - STOVL jet fighter attack aircraft saw extensive use in the Falklands campaign. The BAE Sea Harrier is a naval development of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. It first entered service with the RNAS in April 1980 following the retirement of the Royal Navy's last large aircraft carrier, the Ark Royal, and it's Phantom and Sea Vixen fighters. The original Sea Harriers were upgraded to the BAE Sea Harrier FA2 in 1990 following lessons observed from the aircraft's performance in the Falklands campaign. The BAE Sea Harrier FA2 was phased out of service in late March 2006, to be replaced by the BAE Harrier GR7A as the role of the RNAS's Harrier force is now seen as primarily ground attack rather than air defence.
RNAS (Royal Navy Air Squadron) BAE Aerospace Sea Harrier FA2 Specifications:- Crew: 1 Pilot Ejection Seat: Martin-Baker Mk.10H zero-zero Power plant: 1 x Rolls-Royce Pegasus Mk 106 turbofan of 95,6 kN (21500 lbs) thrust. Length: 14.17 m Height: 3.61 m Wing Span: 7.70 m Max. payload: 3855 kg Max. external weapons load: 3629 kg Max. fuel: 2295 kg internal and up to 3000 litres external Maximum Vertical take-off weight: 7992 kg Maximum conventional take-off weight: 11880 kg Max. speed: Mach 0.94 at sea level (1145 km/h, 618 kts) Max. speed at high altitude: Mach 0.97 (1070 km/h, 578 kts) Combat air patrol: 1 h 30 min on station at 110 NM (185 km) from carrier Surface attack mission radius: 200 NM (370 km) with two Sea Eagle missiles and 30 mm guns
Weapons: There are no internal weapons carried on the BAE Sea Harrier FA2 but four wing and three under-fuselage external weapon stations can carry various weapon loads including a mixture of these: 4 x Raytheon AIM-120B ARAAM 4 x AIM-9 Sidewinder 2 x 30 mm Aden gun pods (150 rounds each) 500 kg free fall or retarded bombs 2 x Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles
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