Harrier GR.7

This page is about the premium British strike aircraft Harrier GR.7. For other versions, see Harrier (Family).

Harrier GR.7

Jaguar GR.1A

Harrier GR.7

Jaguar GR.1A

Britain

VIII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
13.0	12.3	12.3

Class:

Strike aircraft

Naval aircraft

Research:400 000

Purchase:1 080 000

Description

The Harrier GR.7 is a rank VIII British strike aircraft with a battle rating of 13.0 (AB) and 12.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Drone Age".

General info

Flight performance

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Max speed

at 0 m1 125 km/h

Turn time30 s

Max altitude12 192 m

EngineRolls-Royce Pegasus Mk.105

TypeJet

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight14 t

Characteristics	Max speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	1,116	1,110	12192	30.4	30.9	70.8	70.8	550
Upgraded	1,133	1,125		29.6	30.0	111.1	89.7

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
X	✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
1,137	648	N/A	829	556	~15	~5

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 648	< 950	< 790	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic mass			Wing loading (full fuel)
Rolls-Royce Pegasus Mk.105		1	6,057 kg			___ kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)					Max Gross Weight
Weight (each)	Type		14m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	45m fuel	49m fuel
1,710 kg	Vectored-thrust low-bypass turbofan		7,113 kg	7,467 kg	8,173 kg	9,230 kg	9,577 kg	14,567 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
Condition	100%	WEP	14m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	45m fuel	49m fuel	MGW
Stationary	9,198 kgf	9,945 kgf	1.40	1.33	1.22	1.08	1.04	0.68
Optimal	9,198 kgf (0 km/h)	9,945 kgf (0 km/h)	1.40	1.33	1.22	1.08	1.04	0.68

Survivability and armour

Flares/Chaff

Aircraft countermeasures to distract IR and radar-guided missiles and also AA radar

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear648 km/h

The Harrier GR.7 has no armour plates. Additionally, all critical components such as the engine, fuel tanks and pilot are located along the longitudinal axis of the fuselage. A hit in this location will be incredibly damaging, potentially starting multiple fires.

The fuel tanks are self-sealing, and the Harrier has access to an Engine Fire System (EFS) which can be used in the event of a fire to increase survivability.

Any substantial damage to the wings will cause the aircraft to potentially lose control, and the GR.7 is particularly susceptible to drag induced by structural damage.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 043 → 4 424

RB7 951 → 11 560

SB10 501 → 15 268

Total cost of modifications324 600

499 000

Talisman cost3 100

Crew training310 000

Experts1 080 000

Aces3 400

Research Aces1 280 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

90 / 310 / 600 %

250 / 250 / 250 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Compressor Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 380 New boosters Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 520 Wings repair Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 480 Engine Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 740	Fuselage repair Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 380 Airframe Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 520 G-suit Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 480 Cover Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 740	Mk.N1 540lb Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 380 aden_25_belt_pack Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 380 TIALD Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 380 LAU-5003 B/A Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 380 Flares/Chaff Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 380 Mk.10 1000lb Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 520 aden_25_new_gun Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 520 aden_25_new_gun Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 520 GBU-12 Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 520 Matra SNEB Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 520 40px AGM-65D Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 480 40px AGM-65E Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 480 Mk.13/18 Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 480 AIM-9L Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 480 Flares/Chaff BOL Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 480 40px AGM-65G Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 740 EFS Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 740 GBU-24 Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 740 AIM-9M Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 740

Generally, it is best to try and gain access to additional countermeasures and air-to-air missiles as soon as possible. This is particularly the case as 4 x AIM-9L missiles and an astonishing 700 potential countermeasures can allow for practically infinite survivability against missiles and a sufficiently lethal offensive armament to deal with most enemy aircraft with a reasonable degree of lethality.

Armaments

Ballistic Computer
CCIP (Guns)	CCIP (Rockets)	CCIP (Bombs)	CCRP (Bombs)

Offensive armament

The Harrier GR.7 is armed with:

• A choice between two presets:
  • Without offensive armament
  • 60 x countermeasures

Suspended armament

The Harrier GR.7 can be outfitted with the following ordnance presets:

• 2 x 25 mm ADEN 25 cannons (100 rpg = 200 total)
• 2 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
• 4 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
• 4 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles + 640 x countermeasures
• 108 x SNEB type 23 rockets
• 114 x CRV7 M247 rockets
• 2 x 540 lb Mk.M2 bombs (1,080 lb total)
• 5 x 1,000 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.13 bombs (5,000 lb total)
• 6 x 295 kg GBU-12 Paveway II bombs (1,770 kg total)
• 4 x 546 kg Mk.13 bombs (2,184 kg total)
• 2 x 2,000 lb GBU-24 Paveway III bombs (4,000 lb total)
• 4 x AGM-65D missiles

Custom loadout options

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
25 mm ADEN 25 cannons (100 rpg)					1		1
540 lb Mk.M2 bombs	1										1
1,000 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.13 bombs		1		1		1		1		1
277 kg GBU-12 Paveway II bombs	1*	1*		1*				1*		1*	1
546 kg Mk.13 bombs		1*		1*				1*		1*
2,000 lb GBU-24 Paveway III bombs				1*				1*
CRV7 M247 rockets	19	19		19				19		19	19
SNEB type 23 rockets	18	18		18				18		18	18
AGM-65D missiles		1		1				1		1
AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles	1†		1†						1†		1†
Countermeasures	160†		160†						160†		160†
TIALD							1*
Maximum permissible wing load: 1,900 kg Maximum permissible weight imbalance: 1,400 kg
* The TIALD targeting pod must be carried when equipping guided bombs †AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles can be carried in conjunction with countermeasure pods on the same hardpoint

Usage in battles

As a fighter:

The Harrier is a subsonic fighter fighting against a mostly supersonic opposition. However, as a weapons platform, it has access to some features that make it able to compete:

You can carry up to 4 AIM-9L missiles that are all-aspect, have a maximum overload of 30 G, and a maximum launch range of 18 km. In realistic terms, that means that if you have an altitude advantage of 1-2 km over someone running away from you you are still able to lock them and fire at a distance of up to 5-6 km and the missile still has a good chance of reaching them. The AIM-9Ls have decent flare resistance if the enemy still has his afterburner on. However, you should avoid firing them in a frontal aspect as just a few flares will be able to decoy them.

You will receive access to 60 countermeasures with the first countermeasure modification and with the second you unlock the option to carry 160 countermeasures on each of the Sidewinder pylons, totalling 4 x 160 + 60 = 700 countermeasures. It is highly recommended to run them mixed (both flares and chaff). This allows you to use the periodic countermeasures dispense function when you are in situations where your situational awareness will be limited, to prevent a missile from hitting the plane.

You also receive an RWR, which is a useful tool for roughly finding the location of enemies and warning you when you are locked on radar.

At the beginning of the match, you can climb to the side along the same flight path as the rest of your team. Try keeping a speed of above 800 km/h while climbing to maybe 5,000 to 7,000 m altitude. However, this playstyle leaves you open to some BVR misses being fired by enemies like the F-14. If you pick up a warning on your RWR and see a semi-active or active radar-guided missile, you will want to fly perpendicularly to the source of the enemy radar whilst deploying chaff.

The general playstyle would be to wait for the proper opportunity to target vulnerable opponents. You are not the plane that will carry the match, you are a support aircraft. Almost all matches inevitably turn into a furball fight where enemies and allies will be located in a tight area. You can dive down from above on them and fire your AIM-9Ls on unsuspecting targets. Be careful not to fire your missiles when allies are very close to the enemy, as you can easily hit a teammate by mistake.

When surrounded by enemies, turn on the automatic countermeasure dispenser and focus on the enemies' positions and who you can target and to where you can disengage. Try to avoid turning with enemies as even with the VTOL controls you will probably be outmatched. A turnfight should be your last resort.

When in combined battles (ground realistic battles):

The Harrier GR.7 has an excellent selection of air-to-ground munitions available for use for ground attack which can be configured using the Weapon loadout customization menu.

TIALD

As seen in picture, TIALD shares similarities with the helicopter gunner sights.

The TIALD (Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designator) has access to thermal vision making target acquisition an easy task. While in use, it acts very similarly to helicopter gunner sights for modern helicopters, utilizing almost the exact same functions. Range is not displayed in the HUD as seen in helicopters. However, this is not a crucial aspect of accurate bombing as the range is fully dependent on the aircraft's attitude (altitude, speed, angle of attack, etc.). If the user is familiar with helicopter HUD, you will be familiar with the indicators to the left of the reticle.

TIALD indicators

These indicators signal the following: THR (throttle), IAS (indicated air speed), SPD (speed at sea level), ALT (altitude). These indicators will stay fixed to the sight regardless of the loadout. The lower indicators will vary according to the loadout carried at the time, in this case: GBU (GBU-24 Paveway III (2,000 lb) guided bombs) FLR (amount of flares remaining) and CHFF (amount of chaff remaining). The TIALD has a double functionality, not only working as the laser designator for GBUs but can work as an additional scouting tool for better situational awareness, both for air-to-ground and air-to-air. Functionalities of the TIALD will be explained further below.

Something to keep in mind is that while the TIALD pod can look backwards it cannot look directly downwards, this means that if you have the pod locked to a target and you fly directly over the target, the pod can lose its lock on the target when it hits the downwards limit. If you allow this to happen, it is likely the bomb will miss the target before you are able to get the targeting pod pointed at it again. In order to avoid this, you can fly slightly off to the side of your target (rather than passing straight over it) so that the pod can keep pointed at the target by swivelling sideways, rather than straight down like it would have to if you flew directly over it.

AGM-65D

The AGM-65D air-to-ground missile, when working in conjunction with the TIALD targeting pod, can be an effective combination for knocking out enemy tanks from far away. It is recommended to also bring a couple of AIM-9L missiles for self-defence against enemy fighters. As the AGM-65D utilises thermal imaging for guidance, you should have no problem spotting enemy vehicles in day or night battles.

To successfully use this weapon in ground battles, you will first need to stay well away from the battlefield and begin climbing in order to bring yourself above the view of enemy SPAA radar. Once an altitude of 5,000 - 6,000 m is reached, begin heading towards the battlefield while maintaining a shallow climb. Once you have positioned yourself near or over the battlefield, you can use your TIALD targeting pod to search for enemy vehicles and watch for friendly scout markers. After acquiring a lock on an enemy position, point the nose of the aircraft roughly in the direction of the enemy vehicle and then press your "fire air-to-ground missile" key once to activate the missile seeker and once more to fire the missile. As the AGM-65D is a fire-and-forget weapon, you do not need to maintain lock for the duration of the missile's flight and can immediately begin searching for new targets. It is advised to try to target enemy SPAA first as even though they cannot see you on radar (provided you are still far above them), they can still manually look up and try to find you once they notice you eliminating their teammates in the battle log.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• It has a very large count of countermeasures (700 if all four BOL rails are equipped)
• Even if only two BOL rails are equipped the amount of countermeasures is still very impressive at 380
• Can carry up to four very effective AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
• Dedicated missile pylons ensure you can always carry at least two AIM-9Ls without sacrificing any ground attack ordnance
• Has built-in target tracker and FLIR even without targeting pod
• Has pilot night vision
• ADEN 25 cannons have very high rate of fire and velocity
• Access to a very diverse range of ground attack ordnance including 610 lb, 1,200 lb and 2,000 lb laser-guided bombs and AGM-65D Mavericks
• Can carry six laser-guided bombs at the same time
• TIALD pod (which has far better zoom and resolution than the missile seeker) can be used to lock AGM-65Ds onto targets.
• It is very hard to rip the wings due to excessive speed or G overload, thanks to the very high G overload limit and the wing rip speed being above what the aircraft can typically achieve
• CR7V M247 rockets are very effective at destroying SPAAs from range due to very high speed and explosive mass being much better than SNEB rockets

Cons:

• The exceptional rate of fire and low ammo count of the gun pods gives you very limited trigger time before running out of ammo
• 25 mm belts have no tracer rounds, making it hard to learn the unique ballistics of the ADEN cannon
• No radar
• Subsonic
• Engine overheats if used at 100% or WEP - about 90-95% throttle is the most you can use for extended periods of time (depending on map temperature)
• Limited WEP time
• Lower top speed than first-generation Harriers

History

The Hawker Siddeley Harrier was the first V/STOL fixed-wing jet aircraft to enter military service, and it was very successful not only domestically, but in the foreign market, with immense international interest in the project.

One such nation was the United States of America, who bought the rights to domestically manufacture and cooperate on the design of the aircraft. The contract was granted to McDonnell Douglas and British Aerospace (the conglomerate successor to Hawker Siddeley), and eventually developed a successor aircraft, the AV-8B Harrier II. This design proved extremely capable in US tests, and so the British Ministry of Defence sought to adopt an iteration of this redesign.

The contract defaulted on British Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas due to their extensive experience with the programme, and by 1990, it began to enter service with the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm.

Originally designated "GR.5", later upgrades led to designations "GR.7" and "GR.9".

McDonnell Douglas was later merged into Boeing, and British Aerospace was merged with Marconi Electronic Systems to form BAE Systems, who continued to manufacture the Harrier II until it was retired from service in 2011 due to budget constraints. It saw service in the Gulf War, Operation Deliberate Force, Operation Allied Force, the Iraq War (2003-2011) and the War in Afghanistan (2001-2020).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Harrier GR.7 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #322 - Metal Beasts section at 00:27 discusses the Harrier GR.7.

Harrier GR.7 : A Basic Review - Tims Variety

See also

Related development

• Harrier GR.1
• Harrier GR.3
• AV-8A
• AV-8C

Similar aircraft

• A-7D
• A-7E

External links

• [Devblog] Harrier GR.7: Next Gen Jump Jet

British Aerospace plc
Strike Aircraft	Harrier GR.7 · Sea Harrier FRS.1 (e) · Sea Harrier FRS.1 · Sea Harrier FA 2
See also	British Aircraft Corporation · Hawker Aircraft Limited