military-aircraft-av-8b

After undertaking parallel studies for a successor to the similar Harrier GR.Mk 3 and AV-8A in service with the Royal Air Force and US Marine Corps, McDonnell Douglas and British Aerospace decided to join forces for the design of an advanced version of the Harrier, and the resulting YAV-8B prototype first flew in November 1978. The AV-8B Harrier II entered USMC service in October 1983. By comparison with the basic Harrier, it had a more powerful engine aspirated via larger inlets, a revised fuselage with a fighter type cockpit, a completely new and larger wing of supercritical section and graphite epoxy construction (with larger flaps, drooping ailerons, and leading edge root extensions for improved man euverability,) better under fuselage lift improvement devices, and seven hard points for weapon carriage. From 989 new aircraft have had improved night attack capability through provision of night vision goggles, a moving map display, and a head up display accommodating FLIR imaging.

Description	Specifications
Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas	Length: 46 ft. 4 in.
First Flight: November 1978	Height: 11 ft. 7.75 in.
Model: B	Wing Span: 30 ft. 4 in.
Crew: One.	Wing Area: 238.7 sq. ft.
Nickname: Harrier	Empty Weight: 13,086 lb.
Basic Role: Close support aircraft.	Max. Weight: 31,000 lb.
Other Versions: AV-8B Harrier II production model, of which the USMC. TAV-8B Harrier II two seat version with full combat capability.	Armament: One 25-mm multi barrel cannon, and up to 17,000 lb. of disposable stores.
Principal User: Spain, and USA.	Propulsion
Performance	Power Plant: Rolls Royce F402-PR-408A vectored thrust turbofan.
Range: Radius 103 miles on a lo-lo-lo mission with one hour loiter.	Horsepower: 21,450-hp thrust.
Max. Speed: 661 mph at sea level.	No. Of Engines: One
Ceiling: 50,000 ft.
Climb Rate: 14,715 ft. per minute.

The TAV-8B two seat conversion of proficiency trainers. The first of them flew in October 1986 and the type's service debut came in March 1987. The TAV-8B still possesses full combat capability in the form of a under fuselage cannon and six under wing hard points for disposable ordnance.