AV-8B Harrier II

AV-8B Harrier II (Ground-attack aircraft) – 103

Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas / British Aerospace, Boeing / BAE Systems

First flight: 5 November 1981

Introduction: January 1985

Produced: 1981–2003

Number built: 337

Program cost: $6.5 billion (1987)

Unit cost: $24-30 million (1996)

Developed from: Hawker Siddeley Harrier

General characteristics

Crew: 1 pilot

Length: 14.12 m

Wingspan: 9.25 m

Height: 3.55 m

Wing area: 22.61 m²

Empty weight: 6,340 kg

Loaded weight: 10,410 kg

Max. takeoff weight:

Rolling: 14,100 kg;

Vertical: 9,415 kg

Powerplant:

1× Rolls-Royce F402-RR-408 (Mk 107) vectored-thrust turbofan, 10,707 kgf (105 kN)

Performance

Maximum speed: Mach 0.9 (1,083 km/h)

Range: 2,200 km

Combat radius: 556 km

Ferry range: 3,300 km

Rate of climb: 4,481 m/min

Wing loading: 460.4 kg/m²

Armament

Guns: 1× General Dynamics GAU-12 Equalizer 25 mm 5-barreled Gatling cannon mounted under-fuselage in the left pod, with 300 rounds of ammunition in the right pod

Hardpoints: 6× under-wing pylon stations holding up to 4,200 kg of payload:

Rockets

4× LAU-5003 rocket pods (each with 19× CRV7 70 mm rockets)

Missiles

Air-to-air missiles:

4× AIM-9 Sidewinder or similar-sized infrared-guided missiles;

6× AIM-120 AMRAAM (on radar equipped AV-8B Plus variants)

Air-to-surface missiles:

6× AGM-65 Maverick; or

2× AGM-84 Harpoon; or

2× AGM-88 HARM

Bombs

CBU-100 cluster bombs (CBUs)

Mark 80 series of unguided bombs (including 3 kg and 14 kg practice bombs)

Paveway series of laser-guided bombs (LGBs)

Joint Direct Attack Munitions (GBU-38, GBU-32, and GBU-54)

Mark 77 napalm canisters

B61 nuclear bomb

Others

up to 4× 1136/1249/1401 L drop tanks (pylon stations No. 2, 3, 4, & 5 are wet plumbed)

Intrepid Tiger II electronic jammer

Avionics

Raytheon APG-65 radar

AN/AAQ-28V LITENING targeting pod (on radar-equipped AV-8B Plus variants)

AV-8B Harrier II Night Attack

Improved version with a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera, an upgraded cockpit with night-vision goggle compatibility, and the more powerful Rolls Royce Pegasus 11 engine

AV-8B Harrier II Plus

Similar to the Night Attack variant, with the addition of an APG-65 radar