British Aerospace Sea Harrier British Aerospace Sea Harrier The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft; the second member of the Harrier Jump Jet family developed. It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the ""Shar"". Unusual in an era in which most naval and land-based air superiority fighters were large and supersonic, the principal role of the subsonic Sea Harrier was to provide air defence for Royal Navy task groups centred around the aircraft carriers. The
Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Sea Harrier was not intended for ground-attack duties and, unlike the standard Harrier, was equipped with radar and Sidewinder missiles for air combat duties and fleet air defence. The Sea Harrier was also fitted with navigational aids for carrier landings, modifications to reduce corrosion and a raised bubble-canopy for greater visibility. The aircraft were later equipped to use AIM-120 AMRAAM beyond-visual-range anti-aircraft missiles and the more advanced Blue Vixen radar for longer range air-to-air combat, as well as Sea Eagle missiles for conducting anti-ship missions. The McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II is the latest Harrier variant, a second-generation series