Monday, February 9, 2009

Harrier Jump Jet


The Harrier Jump Jet, often referred to as just "Harrier" or "the Jump Jet", is a British designed military jet aircraft capable of Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing (V/STOL) via thrust vectoring. The Harrier family is the only truly successful design of this type from the many that arose in the 1960s.
There are four main versions of the Harrier family: Hawker Siddeley Harrier, British Aerospace Sea Harrier, Boeing/BAE Systems AV-8B Harrier II, and BAE Systems/Boeing Harrier II. The Hawker Siddeley Harrier is the first generation version and is also known as the AV-8A Harrier. The Sea Harrier is a Maritime strike/air defence fighter. The AV-8B is the second generation Harrier and the BAE Harrier II is the British variant of the second generation Harrier.


VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing)

VTOL is an abbreviation for Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft. This classification includes fixed-wing aircraft that can hover and take off and land vertically, helicopters, and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as tiltrotors. Autogyros, balloons, airships and rockets are not normally considered VTOL. Some VTOL aircraft can operate in other modes as well, such as CTOL (Conventional Take-off and Landing), STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing), and/or STOVL (Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing) mode. Others, such as some helicopters, can only operate by VTOL, due to the aircraft lacking landing gear that can handle horizontal motion. VTOL is a subset of V/STOL.
Besides the ubiquitous helicopter, there are currently two types of VTOL aircraft in military service: craft using a tiltrotor, such as the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, and aircraft using directed jet thrust such as the Harrier family.

F/A-18 Hornet


The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to attack both ground and aerial targets. Designed in the 1970s for service with the United States Navy and Marine Corps, the Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations. It has been the aerial demonstration aircraft for the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels since 1986. Its primary missions are fighter escort, fleet air defense, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), interdiction, close air support and reconnaissance. Its versatility and reliability have proven it to be a valuable carrier asset, though it has been criticized for its lack of range and payload compared to its contemporaries.
The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a distinct, evolutionary upgrade to the F/A-18 designed to serve a complementary role with Hornets in the U.S. Navy.