Hawker Siddeley Harrier

Harrier GR.1, GR.3 AV-8A/C Harrier, AV-8S Matador
AV-8S Matador in flight
General information
Type	V/STOL ground-attack aircraft
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Hawker Siddeley
Status	Retired
Primary users	Royal Air Force (historical) United States Marine Corps (historical) Spanish Navy (historical) Royal Thai Navy (historical)
Number built	278[1]
History
Manufactured	1967–1970s
Introduction date	1 April 1969[2]
First flight	28 December 1967
Retired	2006
Developed from	Hawker Siddeley P.1127/Kestrel
Developed into	British Aerospace Sea Harrier McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II British Aerospace Harrier II

The Hawker Siddeley Harrier is a British jet-powered attack aircraft designed and produced by the British aerospace company Hawker Siddeley. It was the first operational ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft with vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) capabilities and the only truly successful V/STOL design of its era.

It was the first of the Harrier series of aircraft, being developed directly from the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel prototype aircraft following the cancellation of a more advanced supersonic aircraft, the Hawker Siddeley P.1154. In the mid 1960s, the Harrier GR.1 and GR.3 variants were ordered by the British government for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The Harrier GR.1 made its first flight on 28 December 1967, and entered RAF service in April 1969. During the 1970s, the United States opted to procure the aircraft as the AV-8A; it was operated by the US Marine Corps (USMC).

Introduced to service amid the Cold War, the RAF positioned the bulk of their Harriers across West Germany to defend against a potential invasion of Western Europe by the Warsaw Pact forces; the unique abilities of the Harrier allowed the RAF to disperse their forces away from vulnerable airbases. The USMC used their Harriers primarily for close air support, operating from amphibious assault ships, and, if needed, forward operating bases. Harrier squadrons saw several deployments overseas. Its ability to operate with minimal ground facilities and very short runways allowed it to be used at locations unavailable to other fixed-wing aircraft. The Harrier received criticism for having a high accident rate and for a time-consuming maintenance process.

In the 1970s, the British Aerospace Sea Harrier was developed from the Harrier for use by the Royal Navy (RN) on Invincible-class aircraft carriers. Both the Sea Harrier and the Harrier fought in the 1982 Falklands War, in which the aircraft proved to be crucial and versatile. The RN Sea Harriers provided fixed-wing air defence while the RAF Harriers focused on ground-attack missions in support of the advancing British land force. The Harrier was also extensively redesigned as the AV-8B Harrier II and British Aerospace Harrier II by the team of McDonnell Douglas and British Aerospace. During the late 1980s and 1990s, the first-generation aircraft were gradually replaced by the newer Harrier IIs.