By taking off vertically, you can simultaneously launch more jets than you have runways to accommodate.
OK, Mr. Advance Wars. Does it really take that long for an F-22 to take off? If they're all lined up and fueled up, I imagine you can get a bunch of them in the air really quickly.
The hovering part is mostly important for being able to deploy them from smaller ships and airfields. You don't have to build a full-size aircraft carrier when you have ships like invincible class carriers(which are built for Helos, VTOL and VSTOL aircrarft), and you can land near-vertically on very small airfields, giving a lot more operational flexibility than traditional fighter jets.
There's no denying the awesomeness of the Harrier. But I've always wondered, what is its use? What kind of military mission would you actually use a Harrier on? It seems like between jets and helicopters you've pretty much got it covered. I guess I can also see the use of tiltrotors, since they can carry a bunch of cargo or people. But what does a Harrier do besides show off?
Read up about the Falklands War. Harrier plus Side Winder missiles were key to Britain winning. Seriously. The Harriers could take off from the small British carriers and dominate local airspace in a way that non-jet-non-VTOL aircraft could never match.
Read up about the Falklands War. Harrier plus Side Winder missiles were key to Britain winning. Seriously. The Harriers could take off from the small British carriers and dominate local airspace in a way that non-jet-non-VTOL aircraft could never match.
Eh, it was mostly just because there was no way for Argentina to maintain large CAP with long loiter times due to the lack of any carriers and the inability to use the Falkland airstrips. I wouldn't say that RAF dominated the airspace, especially since the Argentinians were able to launch several Exocet missiles throughout the conflict via their airwing, resulting in the loss of the Sheffield and the Atlantic Carrier.
Come to think of hit, Harriers are probably the closest thing we have to F-Zero right now. What's the fastest model available, and how can we build a race track for it?
The Falkland crisis was interesting, in that it showed the sheer difficulties of modern force projection. Britain's navy has limited capabilities in this regard - more limited than most people realized - when facing a realistically equipped foe.
Basically only the US has true global force projection capabilities in the modern world, and this has been true for decades. Without US support, no other nation or even coalition of nations can project outside of a very limited sphere.
That is true. Argentinian forces had to project their force 1,000km. Britain had to project force 12,000km. And those balanced out to a messy war decided by landing troops amphibiously, with the deciding factor probably being nuclear submarines.
The US also provided material support, nevermind secure transit lanes in the ocean and surrounding theater. Britain likely would have had significant operational difficulties without its allies.
VTOLs have one other useful purpose: the ability to take off from crappy runways even on land.
There was a study taken up by the US Marine Corps before they adopted the Harrier on whether it would've been beneficial in Vietnam. The result of the study is that it would've been very beneficial in Vietnam because, being a VTOL aircraft, it could take off from essentially helipads/open fields/etc. instead of requiring 2 mile long runways and provide close air support beyond what choppers could do.
VTOL is useful in a tense world for a sort of defensive depth. Theoretically, VTOL fighters could be placed in cities to allow for a one-time massive scramble in the event of an emergency.
The even cooler thing is that the Royal Navy developed a crane system called the Sky Hook so that Harrier didn't even have to have a helicopter pad. I don't remember if it was actually tested or not, but just imagine a building where a crane swings out from the side and has a whole load of Harriers dangling. Then... swoooosh!
I didn't hear a whole lot as I only caught the tail of the segment on the way to work but it seems there was a bit of controversy over the noise level at the Grand Prix in Melbourne this past weekend. Any take on the issue, Sir Churba?
Yeah, the controversy was the LACK of noise.
I understand the reasons for switching form V12 to V10, 8 and now 6. But at least for me F1 is about being the #1 fastest and most insane auto race on earth. Let all the other races worry about fuel efficiency and such. Let F1 continue to be the extravagance it has always been.
The exhaust sound difference is probably more of a function of using a turbocharger than a increase in fuel efficiency.
Pretty exciting Canadian GP. Western Australian driver was handed a victory after the Mercedes car's DRS systems failed (yet Rosberg still somehow came in 2nd) and Massa wrecked his Williams car by trying to kill Perez in the Force India car.
I love this kind of "day in the life" glimpse into all the complexity that goes into things that most people only see the completed result of. How the Superbowl actually happens, logistically, or what happens between the landing of the space shuttle and its next launch, etc...
Comments
Basically only the US has true global force projection capabilities in the modern world, and this has been true for decades. Without US support, no other nation or even coalition of nations can project outside of a very limited sphere.
There was a study taken up by the US Marine Corps before they adopted the Harrier on whether it would've been beneficial in Vietnam. The result of the study is that it would've been very beneficial in Vietnam because, being a VTOL aircraft, it could take off from essentially helipads/open fields/etc. instead of requiring 2 mile long runways and provide close air support beyond what choppers could do.
Harrier-buchet.
Sea Harrier around a race track
Tomorrow is going to be packed. Movie (Edge of tomorrow), game day, Game of Thrones, Cosmos, F1.
Truly these are the salad days.
Western Australian driver was handed a victory after the Mercedes car's DRS systems failed (yet Rosberg still somehow came in 2nd) and Massa wrecked his Williams car by trying to kill Perez in the Force India car.