Originally Posted by
RileyDove
The Harriers had a large number of gun pods built for the Aden 25 but it was never a success. When there was a tried and tested American gun available it's beyond comprehension why they even tried! As for the Harrier - do you really want to be at low level firing a cannon when they can quite happily return fire at you! Far better to have an element of safety and use rockets and bombs.
If your sentence "...As for the Harrier..." reflects current attitudes in the RAF CAS community, you can hardly blame the Army for preferring the A10s. IMHO the officer who approved the Harrier for the CAS role without a gun should be court-martialled, even if it involved recalling him from retirement.
Are cluster bombs still available, or have they been withdrawn at the behest of the bleeding hearts? If you believe Kippling, humanitarian concerns are scarce amongst the tribesmen/women in AFghanistan.