I was riding my motorbike over Vauxhall bridge when these flew over. I also saw the Apache, albeit a couple of days earlier. Was a good sight. I work in Westminster so see a lot of Chinooks fly over.
Harriers are awesome no doubt about it. But were they really that useful from a military perspective? Would aircraft carrying ships and ally airfields plus a regular fighter jet's range not make the VTOL aspect sort of redundant?
The daily mail isn't exactly the height of journalistic excellence, but they were apparently on loan for anti-terror exercises. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ow-issued-warning-capital-s-tubes-summer.html
The Harriers proved their worth in the Falklands: https://theaviationist.com/2012/05/...in-the-falklands-to-be-replaced-by-the-f-35b/ I remember watching live news of Harriers dog fighting with Argie jets and I was amazed by it all. I got to clean a Harrier at RAF Gutersloh in West Germany with the cub scouts for our bob a job day in 1982! My old man was based near there with the army. We even got to sit in the jet once we'd finished. A great plane that was suspected to be not very combat effective till the Falklands.
Plus you could effectively use them from helicarriers an far easier to park on the deck of a normal carrier in bad seas. We have a friend whos the butt of most RAF decom jokes, he was with the last operational SHAR2/AV8 squadron, an was with the last Seaking before they were mothballed.
Harriers could be deployed (and refuelled) anywhere where there was a road or flat space the size of a tennis court. In the Falklands they confounded Argentinian fighter jets because although the latter were faster, the Harrier could almost literally stop in mid-air and watch a pursuing Argentinian jet helplessly shoot past and become the target instead. Quite a table-turner.
And not carrying any gear as well. The Verticle take off wasn't really that practical. What it was designed for is to be able take off oh short makeshift runways in European conflict.
Missed out the Zumwalt class for a start on that chart. The US are planning to phase out the remaining AV8-B's but from what I understand the Marines still prefer them to the F35B's
The last flight of harrier's doing a tribute past 10 Downing St. The replacement and new home(s): 2x QE Class Carriers: RAF Marham refit: Plenty of civvy job/business opportunities popping up around Marham and Portsmouth in the near future I imagine.
