iscover
For an aircraft that was said largely to be totally ineffective at range, not able to operate in foul weather and not to have real air-toair or air-to-ground capabilities the Sea Harrier did 'pretty' well in the South Atlantic, downing at least 30 Argentine aircraft without loss to its type. From Australia's viewpoint, the major benefits of acquiring Sea Harriers are that they are now battle-proven, particularly in concert with the remarkable a/I-aspect AIM-9L Sidewinder, that they possess a radar and may be converted for a Beyond Visual Range (BVR) capability in the future with the addition of Skyf/ash or AMRAAM. The Sea Harrier also is widely used in the all-important reconnaissance role and can carry both Harpoon and Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles. Sea Harrier is also about half as expensive to acquire as would be a proposed AV-88 Plus.
The AV-8B Harrier II v Sea Harrier
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The Falklands War Proved Beyond Doubt the Need for Ship-Based Fixed-Wing Airpower. The Inclusion of a Carrier Into the Ran Sans Stovl Aircraft Would Be the Height of Naivety. In This Special Feature We Examine In-Depth the Two Available Types Under Consideration by the RAN.
Assuming that Australia proceeds with the acquisition of an aircraft carrier, whether HMS Invincible or one of the American, Italian and Spanish ships considered earlier, then the option will arise of adding fixed-wing V/STOL aircraft to what is basically a command-and-control vessel that operates a considerable force of ASW helicopters.
The addition of high-performance fixed-wing aircraft would augment significantly the ship’s effectiveness in protecting convoys and supporting amphibious landings and would enhance its own security against attacks from aircraft and surface vessels. Such V/STOL aircraft could (in principle) provide organic air defence, surface attack, and reconnaissance capabilities. The carrier would still lack an AEW (airborne early warning) capability, but it is possible that this gap in its defences could be temporarily plugged by a new development of the Sea King helicopter, pending the availability of fixed-wing V/STOL aircraft for such roles.
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