Why was the Harrier Retired

Yeh so, why were they retired? This was a total waste of time.

Where was the explanation then? An F35b costs about twelve times as much as a late period Harrier...how can it possibly be 12 times better? Mad amounts of money spent on the two carriers for the UK...what on earth are they actually for? Just enormous targets essentially...meanwhile we have a wide variety of social crises that require investment...

America got it incredibly improved it and still has it 👏

I also remember in the 1980's watching these at RAF Wyton near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, UK. The reconnaissance plane Cambera was the main aircraft at Wyton, other planes made numerous appearances.

That would be the Ministry of Defense. Not Military of Defense.

when on holiday and out pony trecking in the lake district cumbria uk a few years ago now one of these flew over head frightening the shite out of me however turpin my pony was unflafflable he just looked around at me as if to say for god sake get a grip mrs its only a effing plane

The F-35B is going to be a worthy replacement.

So WHY were the Harriers retired???

A more balanced and complete account is had by considering that in 2010 the UK had a government led by Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg - each of whom was weak with no interest in UK national security. The Harriers they junked had just been upgraded at considerable cost and with no replacement we were at serious risk. The small carriers we had at that time were also decommissioned and newly upgraded maritime search aircraft were physically destroyed on the runway by mechanical diggers.

It was a piece of junk😅

WHY? POS!

why why why???

US Marine AV8B are continuing in service until 2029. This aircraft would be an ideal tactical close air to ground support for UKR far more effective at the front line than F16 and F-18 that need long hard standing runways. But as the US Marines found out in early service airmanship is not conventional and conversion training would be extensive.

Send three squadron of it to Ukraine it gonna change the face of war quickly

Sorry iconic have you forgotten how the Vulcan beat America air defences twice in the sixties? Also the lightening jet. Convenient you forgot those as iconic aircraft the Harrier was one of a few!

good war plane for its time.

They’re still being used what do you mean

“The Harrier was the most iconic British fighter design”

The Spitfire: Are you sure about that?

Dumb it was retired, like the F-15, F-16, they traded old reliable, VTOL, for junk.

Because cuts

So, why was it retired?

The harrier was got rid of because the US said so, we had to buy the F35 and pay them billions. What daddy says we have to do.

has to do with crawling speed, very slow to speed is approximately 180km/ hr a pure kombi in the air!!

The US Marines lost 1/3 of it's Harriers to Crashes. I seem to remember reading somewhere that about 50 percent of all harriers ever built crashed. That could be called Retirement.

Does not explain “why”!

It's still the best vstol aircraft ever built.
F-35s have still a long way to prove they are worthy

That didn't explain much but the British knocked it out of the park with this design. It was very successful for many years. 🇺🇸🇬🇧

Hi from the home of the Harrier, Wittering, we miss them all.😥

So why were they retired?

So they could sell the UK the F35 and makes loads of money

They aren’t completely retired yet, the US still has 2 harrier squadrons

If there was a conflict that fitted the original purpose of the Harrier, it is Ukraine. All available, F35,F16, A10 etc need concrete runways, all of which are targeted.

Ya to f35 ka mukabla kr rha ha .wo be este saal phela technology aa gyi thi..

It was retired due to costs. They’re retired 8 years earlier than expected. The government didn’t want to pay for their upkeep. Said it was save the taxpayer millions. They also got rid of HMS Ark Royal.

Ohhhhhh, they fucked up the Argentine Air Force?!?!?!? OOooooOOOOeeeeeWWWiii!!!

You did not answer the question "Why was the Harrier Retired" you just said that they did and sold them to the US.

One of the few Aircraft sold to America.. Oh yeah forgot The Canberra The Hawk... The Viscount The BAC 1-11.

At the end of the day, attack helicopters can also take off vertically

It was old and had used all its options on upgrades without seriously changing the design..

what's a kom-bat? Is it a type of bat?

Q: Why was the Harrier retired?

A: To allow the money to be diverted into the F-35 and Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier programs.

Surprise surprise, Peter James Luff was a "Tory" party, the continual push for selling UK assets and national treasures.

Light attack, heavy airshow.

The two Queen Elizabeth carriers the Royal Navy now operates are very impressive ships but Britain’s role within NATO at sea was always based primarily on anti submarine warfare in the North Sea and the North Atlantic. For that role we didn’t need the QE class. Instead we could have invested in more smaller ships to fulfill the ASW role as well as also covering other roles in the North Sea and Atlantic.
Great as the new carriers are the Royal Navy is not suited to a worldwide role in the way the USN is, and the RN used to be when Britain had colonies worldwide.
It would have been better to retain the smaller carriers and their Harriers until new smaller carriers with F35s could have been built.
Britain is not a world power it is, and has been, for a long time a regional power best suited to defending Europe and the seas around it imo.

I am surprised that the yak-38 was not mentioned?

Retired what the fuck

the british harriers shouldnt have been retired until the replacement was in hand. they scrapped them and we had no use for our carriers so they then scrapped them. its a bad habit to scrap a capability before the replacement is in hand. they got rid of the nimrods, harriers, tornados, list goes on

Sub Sonic

To answer the question, the reason why the UK decommissioned it's harriers and aircraft carriers was to free up money for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

The invincible class with harriers could of gone on until 2020.