Originally Posted by
BEagle
Assuming that the deployment was still needed by the time the carrier moved the Harriers within range of the scene of hostilities!
I'll willingly concede that losing SHAR2 with Link 16 was a daft decision. But GR9 wasn't much cleverer than the Hunter in the A/A role against a capable enemy and was less capable than Tornado in A/G in its latter days, so the decision was sad but inevitable.
The Harrier has always had a special place in the Hearts of the British Public and its limited close air support role, made somewhat agreeable to the army. But I recall the specifics were that the Government, bearing in mind SDSR wasn't fiscally driven of course, that only two fixed-wing combat types should survive. The Typhoon was preferred for the chop by critics from outside the RAF, as was even more so, the Tornado. However, whatever the means of launch and recovery, where it matters, aloft, the Typhoon and Tornado GR4, to the best of my knowledge, possessed far superior capabilities and performance. Therefore, not popular with jump jet fans, the Harrier had to go.
FB