Whilst I have no desire to enter into a slanging match about the undoubted skill and determination of the Harrier operators, what I'd like to know is this;
If the GR7 is perceived to be vulnerable to small-arms fire from AK74/RPD/RPK as used by the Taliban, how would it have survived over the North German Plain against GSFG armed with AK74/RPD/RPK, the operational theatre for which both it and its previous manifestation were designed?
If, as I suspect, TPTB have known about such vulnerability, have we been misleading ourselves about the capability of the Harrier, which on introduction to service was hailed as just the thing for Close Air Support?
Just to bring my post back to a suitable level for Pprune, if this debate identifies a suitable candidate for a future CAS platform, can I assume that we will have a willy-waving contest about which Service will operate it?