Hawker Siddeley Harrier Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Hawker Siddeley Harrier, developed in the 1960s, is the first of the Harrier Jump Jet series of aircraft. It was the first operational close-support and reconnaissance fighter aircraft with vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) capabilities and the only truly successful V/STOL design of the many that arose in that era. The Harrier was developed directly from the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel prototype aircraft, following the cancellation of a more advanced supersonic aircraft, the Hawker Siddeley P.1154. The British Royal Air Force (RAF) ordered the Harrier GR.1 and GR.3 variants in the late 1960s. It was exported to
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II of funds for a replacement aircraft. Following the decommissioning of "Príncipe de Asturias" in February 2013, the sole naval platform from which Spanish Harrier IIs can operate is the amphibious assault ship . During its service with the USMC, the Harrier has had an accident rate three times that of the Corps' F/A-18s. , approximately 110 aircraft have been damaged beyond repair since the type entered service in 1985, the first accident occurring in March that year. The "Los Angeles Times" reported in 2003 that the Harrier family had the highest rate of major accidents among military aircraft in service