AirSkyBuster : Aircraft and Airplane

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Sea Harrier (wallpaper 4)
Sea Harrier aircraft images wallpaper gallery 4. Sea Harrier airplane pictures collection 4.
The Sea Harrier is a subsonic aircraft designed to fill strike, reconnaissance and fighter roles. It features a single Pegasus turbofan engine with two intakes and four vectorable nozzles. It has two landing gear on the fuselage and two outrigger landing gear on the wings. The Sea Harrier is equipped with four wing and three fuselage pylons for carrying weapons and external fuel tanks. Use of the ski jump allowed the aircraft to take off with a heavier loadout than otherwise possible. The Sea Harrier was largely based on the Harrier GR3, but was modified to have a raised cockpit with a "bubble" canopy for greater visibility, and an extended forward fuselage to accommodate the Ferranti Blue Fox radar. Parts were changed to use corrosion resistant alloys or coatings were added to protect against the marine environment. After the Falklands War, the Sea Harrier was fitted with the new anti-ship Sea Eagle missile. The Sea Harrier FA2 featured the Blue Vixen radar, which was described as one of the most advanced pulse doppler radar systems in the world; the Blue Fox radar was seen be some critics as having comparatively low performance for what was available at the time of procurement. The Blue Vixen formed the basis for development of the Eurofighter Typhoon's CAPTOR radar. The Sea Harrier FA2 also carried the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile, the first UK aircraft to be provided with this capability. An upgraded model of the Pegasus engine, the Pegasus Mk 106, was used in the Sea Harrier FA2; in response to the threat of radar-based anti aircraft weapons electronic countermeasures were added. Other improvements included an increase to the air-to-air weapons load, look-down radar, increased range, and improved cockpit displays.

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Sea Harrier (wallpaper 3)
Sea Harrier aircraft images wallpaper gallery 3. Sea Harrier airplane pictures collection 3.
The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval VTOL/STOVL jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft, a development of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. 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 air defence from Royal Navy aircraft carriers. The Sea Harrier served in the Falklands War, both of the Gulf Wars, and the Balkans conflicts; on all occasions it mainly operated from aircraft carriers positioned within the conflict zone. Its usage in the Falklands War was its most high profile and important success, where it was the only fixed-wing fighter available to protect the British Task Force. Sea Harrier (wallpaper 3). Sea Harrier aircraft images wallpaper gallery 3. Sea Harrier airplane pictures collection 3. The Sea Harriers shot down 20 enemy aircraft during the conflict with one loss to enemy ground fire. They were also used to launch ground attacks in the same manner as the Harriers operated by the Royal Air Force. The Sea Harrier was marketed for sales abroad, but by 1983 India was the only operator other than Britain after sales to Argentina and Australia were unsuccessful. A second, updated version for the Royal Navy was made in 1993 as the Sea Harrier FA2, improving its air to air abilities and weapons compatibilities, along with a more powerful engine; this version continued manufacture until 1998. The aircraft was withdrawn early from Royal Navy service in March 2006 and replaced in the short term by the Harrier GR9, although the intended long term replacement is Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II. The Sea Harrier is in active use in the Indian Navy, although it will eventually be replaced by the Mikoyan MiG-29K. Sea Harrier (wallpaper 3). Sea Harrier aircraft images wallpaper gallery 3. Sea Harrier airplane pictures collection 3.

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Sea Harrier (wallpaper 2)
Sea Harrier aircraft images wallpaper gallery 2. Sea Harrier airplane pictures collection 2.
The FA2 is equipped with the Raytheon AIM-120A AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missile, which is an all-weather, fire-and-forget missile, equipped with an active radar seeker with a range of over 50 miles. The AIM-9 M/L Sidewinder air-to-air missile provides the Harrier with capability for firing close range at an approaching enemy aircraft in a dogfight. The Lockheed Martin / Raytheon Sidewinder M/L has an all-aspect active optical seeker. The Sea Harrier's anti-ship missile is the MBDA (formerly Matra Bae Dynamics) Sea Eagle, a fire-and-forget sea-skimming missile with active radar homing and a range of over 50 miles. Sea Harrier (wallpaper 2). Sea Harrier aircraft images wallpaper gallery 2. Sea Harrier airplane pictures collection 2. The Sea Harrier can carry the MBDA ALARM anti-radiation missile, which can be deployed in direct attack mode, against a radar target, or in loiter mode, where the missile is launched in the vicinity of the threat and waits for the hostile radar to emit. Sea Harrier is equipped with the BAE Systems Sky Guardian 200 radar warning receiver and the AN/ALE-40 chaff and flare dispenser from BAE Systems and Raytheon. AN/ALE-40 is capable of launching chaff, flares and active expendable GEN-X radar decoys. The FA2 Harrier is fitted with a BAE SYSTEMS Blue Vixen pulse Doppler all-weather radar. Blue Vixen is a multimode radar that performs ground mapping and surface target detection and tracking, in addition to long-range look-up and look-down detection and tracking of aircraft. The radar also interfaces to the AMRAAM missile system. An F.95 surveillance camera is installed in the nose of the aircraft, with a cockpit voice recorder for surveillance mission evaluation. Sea Harrier (wallpaper 2). Sea Harrier aircraft images wallpaper gallery 2. Sea Harrier airplane pictures collection 2.

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Sea Harrier (wallpaper 1)
Sea Harrier aircraft images wallpaper gallery 1. Sea Harrier airplane pictures collection 1.
The BAE Systems FA2 Sea Harrier fighter aircraft, which was in service with the British Royal Navy, provided air defence for the carrier fleet, particularly against low-flying attack aircraft armed with long-range air-to-surface missiles. The FA2 first flew in 1988 and entered service in 1993. 56 aircraft were built for the Royal Navy. The Sea Harrier was retired from the UK Royal Navy in March 2006, but is currently in service with the Indian Navy. The design of the aircraft is optimised for air-to-air combat with secondary missions of surveillance, air-to-sea and air-to-ground attack. The aircraft is able to detect and destroy threats before the launch of an attack using long-range weapon systems with look-down and shoot-down tactical capability. In February 2002, the UK Ministry of Defence announced that RN FA2 Sea Harriers would be retired from service by April 2006, and that the combined RAF/RN joint force Harrier (JFH) will be operated with RAF Harrier GR7/9 aircraft by 2007. Sea Harrier (wallpaper 1). Sea Harrier aircraft images wallpaper gallery 1. Sea Harrier airplane pictures collection 1. The first of the Royal Navy's three Sea Harrier squadrons was decommissioned in March 2004. The final Sea Harrier squadron, 801 NAS, was decommissioned on 29 March 2006. The Harriers will be replaced by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter from 2012. The ground attack / reconnaissance GR7s were upgraded to GR9 standard with new systems including: mission computer, stores management system for the deployment of the Brimstone anti-armour missile and precision-guided bombs, inertial navigation system / global positioning system, ground proximity warning system, upgraded displays and secure communications. The GR9 took its maiden flight in May 2003 and entered service in September 2006. In March 2005, Indian Navy awarded an aircraft upgrade contract to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The contract includes the fitting of Elta EL/M-2032 multimode fire control radars and Rafael Derby visual range air-to-air missiles. The aircraft are also fitted with new combat manoeuvring flight recorders and digital cockpit voice recorders. The upgrades were completed in 2009. Sea Harrier (wallpaper 1). Sea Harrier aircraft images wallpaper gallery 1. Sea Harrier airplane pictures collection 1.