Harrier: Jump Jet Interdiction
By Steve Stone
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About this ebook
The Harrier has a unique place in aviation history as the most successful VTOL aircraft to date. Born from the need during the Cold War for an aircraft that could operate even if airfields had been destroyed. The Harrier has become yet another British aviation icon alongside the Spitfire and Concord. Under a small but outstanding team under designer Sir Sydney Camm designer of Hawker Hurricane fame along with Sir Stanley Hooker Bristol’s Technical Director led to the P.1127 forerunner to the Harrier. Such was its success that it was also built under licence in America by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and the Americans along with the British aided in improving it for both later American (AV-8B) and British (GR5, GR7, GR9) versions. The Harrier has fought in several theatres including the Falklands, former Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Roving its value time and time again as a formidable fighter bomber.
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Harrier - Steve Stone
HARRIER
JUMP JET INTERDICTION
STEVE STONE
© Steve Stone 2016
Steve Stone has asserted his rights under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
Published by Digital Dream Publishing 2016
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The Harrier has a unique place in aviation history as the most successful VTOL aircraft to date. Born from the need during the Cold War for an aircraft that could operate even if airfields had been destroyed. The Harrier has become yet another British aviation icon alongside the Spitfire and Concord. Under a small but outstanding team under designer Sir Sydney Camm designer of Hawker Hurricane fame along with Sir Stanley Hooker Bristol’s Technical Director led to the P.1127 forerunner to the Harrier. Such was its success that it was also built under licence in America by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and the Americans along with the British aided in improving it for both later American (AV-8B) and British (GR5, GR7, GR9) versions. The Harrier has fought in several theatres including the Falklands, former Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Roving its value time and time again as a formidable fighter bomber.
Now retired from British service with both the Royal Navy and RAF, it is still very much active with the U.S Marine Corps until ultimately being replaced by the Lockheed Martin F-35B STOVL (short takeoff and vertical landing). The F-35B will start to replace the AV-8B in 2016, but the AV-8B will continue in service until 2025. Meanwhile, the AV-8B will receive revamped defensive measures, updated data-link capability and targeting sensors, and improved missiles, among other enhancements. This unique book looks not only at the amazing history of the Harrier, but follows Harrier GR9A ZG477 into active duty in Afghanistan for its last combat operations with the RAF in 2009. Fighting a deadly and tenacious foe showing no fear towards coalition forces.
PROLOGUE
August 2008
I walked out to the flight line, where my Harrier, a GR9A ZG477 was waiting. ZG477 was originally built as a GR7as part of a batch of 34 delivered in August 1990. The GR7 having been in service since 1990 with the RAF and has been operationally deployed in the Gulf, the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Iraq and now Afghanistan. The GR9 is essentially a GR7 upgraded by BAE Systems to the GR9 standard. Which included improved weapon-aiming systems and improved navigation, and also added new weapons to our arsenal. In January 2007 two GR9s were deployed to Afghanistan as part of NATO International Security Force (ISAF).
My G-suit pockets were filled with maps, even though the Harrier had its own built in maps – which used GPS signals for a precise location. Although the electronic aids added to the GR9 are still way short of the Typhoon. The Harrier though, tests your piloting kills each and every time you strap yourself in. It is an aircraft that demands respect. The AV-8A Harrier and its successor, the AV-8B, have been in 143 major non-combat accidents, killing 45 Marine pilots. The UK had nearly 90 non-combat accidents for all versions of Harriers during their service, excluding prototypes.
As part of Operation Herrick from July 2008 to July 2009. Eight Harriers were continuously available in theatre, with missions flown in pairs, two pairs on day tasking’s and one pair at night, with other aircraft on alert during the day. Our main area of operations was over the Helmand Valley, 15-20 minutes flying time from Kandahar, supporting the British Army along with the Royal Marines and other coalition troops. Other areas we covered included the Khyber Pass and Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan border regions.
This was my first sortie in the ‘Stan.’ I could feel the hot late morning sun on my back, as I walked along a dusty cracked path past some hangers, empty apart from a C-17 undergoing maintenance. Our Harriers were awaiting our arrival on the flight line. The ground crew still scurrying around them, making final preparations. With a final walk round my aircraft, and final checks, including checking the master armament safety switch. It was time to climb board and start the Rolls Royce Pegasus engine. After checking the various switches in the cockpit were in the right position, I clicked the ignition button on the throttle lever. I could hear the igniter click before a light wine from the engine and a cloud of black smoke emanating from the rear - this was soon replaced with a roar as the Pegasus engine came up to idle. A slight nudge of the throttle was all that was needed to get the Harrier rolling. We moved off the flight line and onto the taxiway for the short run to the runway. The concrete on the taxiway was crumbling, some areas worse than others. It was said that the reverse thrust from the C-17 Globemaster, used to reverse them from their hard standing and onto the taxiway had exasperated the damage. The runway had been fully re-surfaced, though, shortly after Kandahar had been captured in 2001.
We were cleared for takeoff and whilst making our way to the runway, we completed all the pre-takeoff checks before turning onto the runway and winding our engines up. The lead Harrier released its brakes and roared off down the runway in a cloud of dust and smoke before climbing into the bright blue sky.
It was my turn next. I pushed e throttle lever fully forward and was pushed back in my ejection seat as all 23,400lb of thrust from the MK107 Pegasus engine pushed me down the runway. The aircraft rocked back and forth as the speed built up to 140 knots. I pulled the lever to angle the jet nozzles downward slightly and the Harrier jumped into the air, quickly building up speed to 400 knots as I climbed into the morning sky. I quickly retracted the landing gear, flaps and pointing the engine nozzles fully rearward. With a full fuel tank and ordnance the Harrier did not have the same nimbleness and my stick moves needed to be more progressive. It felt as if I was driving a bus instead of a sports car. When fully fuelled, with 11,700lb of fuel, this would give us over two hours of flight time without the need of mid-air refuelling. With the mid-air or air-to-air refuelling capability, our time on station could be dramatically increased, with some missions lasting well over six hours. The tactical climb to 10,000 feet was always the most worrying - constantly looking at the three rear view mirrors for any sign of a missile attack. The GR9 cockpit itself is very busy with two TVs displaying anything from Sniper imagery, through to weapon programming, engine performance data or a moving map. We also could simultaneously make use of two radios to keep in contact with the ground forces, wingman or other various agencies that help make the tactical decisions.
At 20,000 feet, I joined the lead Harrier and joined him in a wingtip formation. Below us was Afghanistan’s almost stark terrain, which looked so peaceful, yet deadly. We began our patrol in earnest, however, everything could change in seconds in Afghanistan. Our role included that of close support, which meant we could be called in to support troops at any moment. Flying around, we were an emergency service to coalition troops, swooping in and letting off a few rockets or dropping a few bombs, before swooping off to another target or back home.
Just 20 minutes into the flight, our first call came in from JTAC, "Jaguar Zero One, Recoil Six Four. Recoil Six Four, Jaguar Zero One. Over the secure radio we didn’t need to use codes. Jaguar Zero One simply needed to tell us what our mission was. Our mission was a variation of the usual close support that saw