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Old 6th Jul 2009, 23:28
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Brain Potter
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: England
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m9,

The USMC Harriers operate off exactly the kind of deck shown in that video with a pretty usable war-load.

If you go to this site:

Aviation Videos & Airplane Videos | Patrick's Aviation

and search for a video called "Go Boom" you will see AV-8Bs operating from an LHA during GW2, carrying a variety of loads including large external tanks and 2 LGBs.

As I said before, I recall a Harrier pilot telling me that the CVS ski-jump speed limit has the effect of curtailing the launch speed and lowering the payload for a modern Harrier. I don't know if I remembered this correctly, or whether it is simply the extra length the USN LHAs that makes the difference, but those ships certainly seem capable operating Harriers at useful weights without a ski-jump.
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