Originally Posted by Not a Boffin
The Indians would need a fleet air defender, which GR7/GR9 ain't. Upgrading the aircraft with the APG65 radar (which is what the USMC, Spanish and Italian aircraft have) for about another 6 years of Hermes would be a very expensive way of doing things.
Please put me straight on this one. Are you talking about putting APG65 into SHar? Was that the answer to the problem or was it more about keeping two such dissimilar airframes flying? Blue Vixen wasn't a bad deal, if it was a choice between that or nothing (which is were we went) BV was a great piece of kit.
Kind of makes me wonder which Har we should be talking about when people say 'scrapping the Harrier was bonkers'