Royal Air Force The first RAF squadron to be equipped with the Harrier GR.1,
No. 1 Squadron, started to convert to the aircraft at
RAF Wittering in April 1969. An early demonstration of the Harrier's capabilities was the participation of two aircraft in the
Daily Mail Transatlantic Air Race in May 1969, flying between
St Pancras railway station, London and central
Manhattan with the use of aerial refuelling. The overall journey between the
Post Office Tower and
Empire State Building took 6 hours 11 minutes; the Harrier had a flight time of 5 hours 57 minutes. Two Harrier squadrons were established in 1970 at the RAF's air base in
Wildenrath to be part of its
air force in Germany; another squadron was formed there two years later. In 1977, these three squadrons were moved forward to the air base at
Gütersloh, closer to the prospective front line in the event of an outbreak of a European war. One of the squadrons was disbanded and its aircraft distributed between the other two. In RAF service, the Harrier was used in
close air support (CAS), reconnaissance, and other ground-attack roles. The flexibility of the Harrier led to a long-term heavy deployment in
West Germany as a conventional deterrent and potential strike weapon against Soviet aggression; from camouflaged rough bases the Harrier was expected to launch attacks on advancing armour columns from
East Germany. No. 1 Squadron was specifically earmarked for Norwegian operations in the event of war, operating as part of
Allied Forces Northern Europe. The Harrier's capabilities were necessary in the
Belize deployment, as it was the only RAF combat aircraft capable of safely operating from the airport's short runway; British forces had been stationed in Belize for several years due to tensions over a Guatemalan claim to Belizean territory; the forces were withdrawn in 1993, two years after Guatemala recognized the independence of Belize.
Falklands War In the
Falklands War () in 1982, 10 Harrier GR.3s of No. 1 Squadron operated from the aircraft carrier . As the RAF Harrier GR.3 had not been designed for naval service, the 10 aircraft had to be rapidly modified prior to the departure of the task force. Special sealants against corrosion were applied and a new deck-based inertial guidance aid was devised to allow the RAF Harrier to land on a carrier as easily as the Sea Harrier. Due to limited space aboard the aircraft carriers, two requisitioned
merchant container ships, and , were modified with temporary flight decks to transport Harrier aircraft and helicopters to the South Atlantic. Sea Harriers were primarily tasked with conducting
combat air patrols in response to the threat posed by Argentine aircraft. Both Sea Harriers and Harrier GR.3s were employed in ground-attack operations against the airfield and runway at
Stanley. Had additional Sea Harriers been lost, Harrier GR.3s would have been reassigned to air patrol duties, despite not being designed for air defence operations. Consequently, their outboard weapons pylons were rapidly modified to carry air-to-air
Sidewinder missiles. Between 10 and 24 May 1982, prior to the British landings in the Falklands, a detachment of three GR.3s was deployed to provide air defence for
Ascension Island until the arrival of three
F-4 Phantom IIs, which subsequently assumed the role. During the conflict, the principal threats to Harrier aircraft were assessed as
surface-to-air missiles (SAMs),
anti-aircraft artillery, and
small arms fire, with four Harrier GR.3s and six Sea Harriers lost. More than 2,000 Harrier
sorties were flown during the conflict, an average of six sorties per aircraft per day.
Skyhook and post Falklands deployment Following the Falklands War, British Aerospace explored the Skyhook, a new technique to operate Harriers from smaller ships. Skyhook would have allowed the launching and landing of Harriers from smaller ships by holding the aircraft in midair by a crane; secondary cranes were to hold weapons for rapid re-arming. This would potentially have saved fuel and allowed for operations in rougher seas. The system was marketed to foreign customers, and it was speculated that Skyhook could be applied to large submarines such as the Russian , but the system attracted no interest. The first generation of Harriers did not see further combat with the RAF after the Falklands War, although they continued to serve for years afterwards. As a deterrent against further Argentine invasion attempts,
No. 1453 Flight RAF was deployed to the
Falkland Islands from August 1983 to June 1985. However the second generation
Harrier IIs saw action in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The first generation Hawker Siddeley airframes were replaced by the improved Harrier II, which had been developed jointly between McDonnell Douglas and British Aerospace.
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps began showing a significant interest in the aircraft around the time the first RAF Harrier squadron was established in 1969, and this motivated Hawker Siddeley to further develop the aircraft to encourage a purchase. Although there were concerns in Congress about multiple coinciding projects in the close air support role, the Marine Corps were enthusiastic about the Harrier and managed to overcome efforts to obstruct its procurement. The Marine Corps accepted its first AV-8A on 6 January 1971, at Dunsfold Aerodrome, England and began testing it at
Naval Air Station Patuxent River on 26 January. The AV-8A entered service with the Marine Corps in 1971, replacing other aircraft in the Marines' attack squadrons. The service became interested in performing ship-borne operations with the Harrier. Admiral
Elmo Zumwalt promoted the concept of a
Sea Control Ship, a 15,000-ton light carrier equipped with Harriers and helicopters, to supplement the larger aircraft carriers of the
US Navy. An amphibious assault ship, , was converted into the
Interim Sea Control Ship and operated as such between 1971 and 1973 with the purpose of studying the limits and possible obstacles for operating such a vessel. Since then the Sea Control Ship concept has been subject to periodic re-examinations and studies, often in the light of budget cuts and questions over the use of
supercarriers. Other exercises were performed to demonstrate the AV-8A's suitability for operating from various amphibious assault ships and aircraft carriers, including a deployment of 14 Harriers aboard for six months in 1976. When the reactivation of the s was under consideration, a radical design for a battleship-carrier hybrid emerged that would have replaced the ship's rear turret with a flight deck, complete with a hangar and two ski jumps, for operating several Harriers. However, the USMC considered the need for
naval gunfire support to be a greater priority than additional platforms for carrier operations, while the cost and delay associated with such elaborate conversions was significant, and the concept was dropped. The Marines Corps' concept for deploying the Harriers in a land-based expeditionary role focused on aggressive speed. Harrier forward bases and light maintenance facilities were to be set up in under 24 hours on any prospective battle area. The forward bases, containing one to four aircraft, were to be located from the forward edge of battle (FEBA), while a more established permanent airbase would be located around from the FEBA. Marine Corps officers became convinced of the military advantages of the Harrier and pursued extensive development of the aircraft. Starting in 1979, the USMC began upgrading their AV-8As to the AV-8C configuration—the work focused mainly on extending useful service lives and improving VTOL performance. The AV-8C and the remaining AV-8A Harriers were retired by 1987. These were replaced by the Harrier II, designated as the AV-8B, which was introduced into service in 1985. The performance of the Harrier in USMC service led to calls for the
United States Air Force to procure Harrier IIs in addition to the USMC's own plans, but these never resulted in Air Force orders. Since the late 1990s, the AV-8B has been slated to be replaced by the F-35B variant of the
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, a more modern V/STOL jet aircraft. Like the next generation AV-8Bs, nevertheless, the AV-8A/C Harriers suffered many accidents, with around 40 aircraft lost and some 30 pilots killed during the 1970s and 1980s.
Other operators Due to the Harrier's unique characteristics it attracted a large amount of interest from other nations, often as attempts to make their own V/STOL jets were unsuccessful, such as in the cases of the American
XV-4 Hummingbird and the German
VFW VAK 191B. Operations by the USMC aboard in 1981 and by British Harriers and Sea Harriers in the Falklands War proved that the aircraft was highly effective in combat. These operations also demonstrated that "Harrier Carriers" provided a powerful presence at sea without the expense of big deck carriers. Following the display of Harrier operations from small carriers, the navies of Spain and later Thailand bought the Harrier for use as their main carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft. Spain's purchase of Harriers was complicated by long-standing political friction between the British and Spanish governments of the era; even though the Harriers were manufactured in the UK they were sold to Spain with the US acting as an intermediary. During tests in November 1972, the British pilot
John Farley showed that the wooden deck of their aircraft carrier was able to withstand the temperature of the gases generated by the Harrier. Since 1976, the Spanish Navy operated the AV-8S Matador from their aircraft carrier
Dédalo; the aircraft provided both air defence and strike capabilities for the Spanish fleet. Spain later purchased five Harriers directly from the British government mainly to replace losses. Spain sold seven single-seat and two twin-seat Harriers to Thailand in 1998. The Royal Thai Navy's AV-8S Matadors were delivered as part of the air wing deployed on the new light aircraft carrier . The Thai Navy had from the start significant logistical problems keeping the Harriers operational due to a shortage of funds for spare parts and equipment, leaving only a few Harriers serviceable at a time. In 1999, two years after being delivered, only one airframe was in airworthy condition. Around 2003, Thailand considered acquiring former Royal Navy Sea Harriers, which were more suitable for maritime operations and better equipped for air defence, to replace their AV-8S Harriers; this investigation did not progress to a purchase. The last first-generation Harriers were retired by Thailand in 2006.
Potential operators Some countries almost purchased Harriers. British Aerospace held talks with Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Switzerland and Japan.
Argentina When the Argentinian Navy looked for newer fighters in 1968 the US government only offered old A-4A planes instead of the A-4Fs Argentina wanted. Argentina contacted the British government in 1969 and expressed interest in buying from six to twelve Harrier GR.1s. In 1969 the Argentinian Navy received its second carrier,
ARA Veinticinco de Mayo, from the Netherlands. On her voyage home, Hawker Siddeley demonstrated a RAF Harrier GR.Mk.1 (XV757) but Argentina opted for the A-4Q Skyhawk instead. There were several problems to supply Argentina with Harrier jets and engines that prevented the deal from being closed, and when the US learned of the Harrier negotiations they quickly offered a better deal to Argentina. Some years later, before the 1982 war, British officials again offered Argentina an aircraft carrier and Sea Harrier aircraft.
Australia Planning for a
HMAS Melbourne aircraft carrier replacement began in 1981. After considering American, Italian, and Spanish designs, the Australian government accepted a British offer to sell , which would be operated with Harriers and helicopters. However, the Royal Navy withdrew the offer after the Falklands War, and the
1983 election of the
Australian Labor Party led to the cancellation of plans to replace
Melbourne.
China As early as 1972 the Chinese government started negotiating a purchase of up to 200 Harrier aircraft. Due to internal political issues, China put the negotiations on hold. In 1977 Li Chiang, the Chinese Minister of Foreign Trade, visited the UK and British Aerospace organised a Harrier flying demonstration. In November 1978, the Harrier-demonstration was repeated for the Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Chen during his UK visit. The Harrier deal would have meant British Government ignored United States laws that prohibited such sales to communist countries. British
Prime Minister James Callaghan noted significant hostility from the USSR over the sales bid. In spite of that, British Aerospace convinced China that the Harrier was an effective close-support fighter and was good enough to act in a defensive role. In 1979, the Anglo-Sino deal was nearly finalised before being cancelled by the
Sino-Vietnamese War.
Switzerland The Swiss Air Force was interested in purchasing some Harriers as its doctrine was to operate in hidden and dispersed locations during the Cold War. British Aerospace held talks with Switzerland offering AV-8s to replace
de Havilland Venoms. A demonstration was made by test pilot John Farley and XV742/G-VSTO in 1971. ==Variants==