Indian Navy Retire the Sea Harrier

[ORAC]

Indian Navy Retires Sea Harriers (http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/naval/naval-aviation/2016/03/21/indian-navy-retires-sea-harriers/82070296/)

NEW DELHI — The Indian Navy has retired the Sea Harrier fleet that operated from its aircraft carrier INS Viraat, and plans to replace them with MiG- 29Ks that India has bought from Russia. The Indian Navy bought 30 British-made Sea Harriers in 1983 but only 11 now remain...... The Sea Harrier pilots are now being trained to fly the Russian MiG 29K fighter aircraft.........

The retired Sea Harriers have now been mothballed at the Indian Navy's Air Station in Goa before being distributed as museum pieces, the Indian Navy official said. Even the Viraat, which housed the Sea Harriers, is proposed to be retired by year end. The carrier, which was originally the Royal Navy's HMS Hermes, was bought from the Royal Navy in 1986........

[Basil]

Used to hope, in the Goa circuit, that they'd see us before we saw them :)

[sandiego89]

I believe this closes the active duty flying chapter of the original small wing (Sea)Harrier.


I realize a few remain alive at the Culdrose flight deck training school, Art Nalls Sea Harrier and T bird project, and a few other projects- but none flying with an active air arm- Only the big wing AV-8B's now flying.


Edit: leaving AV-8B's with US Marine Corps, Italy and Spain. (pssst hey anyone want to buy some low-time GR7/9's, carefully stored in a dry climate, 2 careful owners...)

[glad rag]

Incoming in

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[AtomKraft]

Think the Spanish are still flying theirs?

[MAINJAFAD]

Nope, Spain got rid of their AV-8A's eons ago. They use the AV-8B. Spanish tin wing harriers were used by Thailand's navy for a while, but were retired in 2006.