I like many are still sniffling over the loss of Joint Harrier - I really don't care if the F-35B can pickle a JDAM down a nun's cleavage in a hurricane while simultaneously turning an entire squadron of Su-35s into spare parts, because it's not the Harrier, and it doesn't have 2 seats, which leads me to ask....
The ultimate 2 seat evolution of that incredible little fighter was of course the T12A which found itself wrapped around the uprated Pegasus 107 and I recall reading one of those Tom Clancy style techno thrillers many years ago where a 2 seat Harrier was used as a covert insertion platform, flying deep inside enemy territory to deliver an operative in some remote location and then VTOLing out to return with an empty seat.
Pure fiction of course but as I recall the inboards both had the big tanks, while the outboards carried pods holding personal weapons, supplies, and other 007 type gear for use by the operative.
All this got me to wondering how feasible this actually is in the real world, and what a T12A could do in that configuration. Exactly how much weight could it lift in VTOL for the subsequent pick up, and what would the practical unrefueled range be with a VTOL drop off/pick up and flight back.
I know it's strictly Boy's Own stuff but I thought I'd ask the guys who would know - so is it silly fiction or a practical option for specops delivery ?
PS - on the off-chance that this has actually been done, let's not go there, but I do have IM
