Air University Review, September-October 1982

V/STOL: Neither Myth Nor Promise—But Fact

"V/STOLs—A Myth or a Promise" was an interesting review of some of the recent developments in V/STOL technology, and few would dispute the author’s conclusion that more research and development work is required in this field.* Yet it is surprising that any serious article on this subject could virtually ignore the most successful of all the V/STOL configurations: vectored thrust. In particular, the author’s claim that ". . . this is the story of V/STOLs: lots of designs, prototype construction, and testing, but no operational hardware" is simply not true. In the Harrier, Sea Harrier, AV-8A, and AV-8B, we have eloquent testimony that the V/STOL is here to stay as a proven and operational weapon system in a variety of roles and in the service of several nations.

*Colonel William D. Siuru, Jr., USAF, "V/STOLs--A Myth or a Promise, Air University Review, March-April 1982, pp. 70-83.

The Royal Air Force (RAF) put the first Harriers into operational service in 1969 in the roles of close air support, battlefield air interdiction, and tactical reconnaissance. At present, Harriers equip two RAF squadrons in Germany, a squadron and a training unit in the United Kingdom, and a flight in Belize, for a total buy of some 133 aircraft. The U.S. Marine Corps, given but passing mention in the Siuru article, has bought 110 AV-8A and TAV-8A Harriers, which currently equip three combat squadrons,¹ a detachment, and a training unit and have seen service in the United States, Japan, and aboard several aircraft and helicopter carriers. For operation from its carrier the Dedalo, the Spanish Navy has also bought 13 AV-8As and TAV-8As. A navalized version, the Sea Harrier, is being introduced by the Royal Navy in the primary role of fleet air defense. Thirty-three aircraft are on order, and three squadrons are currently equipped for service on-board the antisubmarine carriers HMS Invincible and HMS Hermes. The Indian Navy has ordered eight Sea Harriers, also.

Nearly three hundred Harriers in service worldwide are surely sufficient evidence to disprove Colonel Siuru’s remarkable conclusion that V/STOL aircraft ". . . must prove that they are operationally sound." The U.S. Marine Corps and the Royal Air Force have each acquired more than ten years of operational experience with vectored thrust. They have shown beyond doubt that the concept is viable and that the Harrier is a cost-effective ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense platform whether flown from conventional airfields, prepared or unprepared strips, or aircraft carriers.

Ironically, the Falkland Islands conflict broke out soon after the article in question was written. Sea Harriers in the South Atlantic rapidly proved to be a match for A-4 Skyhawks, Mirages, and Super Etendards, being credited with 32 confirmed kills of Argentine aircraft while no Harriers were lost in air-to-air combat. In a remarkable demonstration of the inherent flexibility of V/STOL, RAF Harriers flown by pilots with no previous deck experience operated successfully from naval aircraft carriers and the converted cargo ship Atlantic Conveyor. Sea Harriers frequently landed on the helicopter flight decks of destroyers to refuel, thus freeing carrier decks for other uses. A total of more than 2000 Harrier sorties was flown from aircraft carriers during the conflict, an impressive average of about six per day per aircraft.² Any doubts about the effectiveness of the Harrier as a versatile fighter must surely have been removed by its outstanding record in the Falkland Islands War.

As final testimony to their faith in V/STOL, both the U.S. Marine Corps and the Royal Air Force have announced plans for major procurement of the McDonnell Douglas improved Harrier, the AV-8B. The Marine Corps intends to replace all its A-4s and AV-8As with 336 AV-8Bs, while the RAF has placed an order for 60 similar models.³ Interest has also been shown by the U.S. Navy, which apparently expects to equip each of its reactivated battleships with 20 to 24 AV-8B Plus aircraft in the late 1980s.⁴

If V/STOL has suffered from lack of official interest in the Untied States ( aside from the Marine Corps), it is not because the concept as exemplified by the Harrier had yet to prove itself. More likely, the problem may lie invested interests by air forces in concrete runways and aircraft shelters and by navies in large, glamorous aircraft carriers; the "not invented here" syndrome may even be to blame. Certainly, Colonel Siuru appears to have exhibited some of the chief symptoms in his article. Perhaps the Soviet designers of the Yak-36 Forger would agree?

1. Harrier/AV-8A deployment details are from The Military Balance 1981/82, compiled by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, and published in Air Force, December 1981, pp. 53-125.

2. Aviation Week & Space Technology, July 19, 1982, p. 20.

3. "Advanced Harrier Programme," Air Clues, The Royal Air Force Magazine, November 1981, p.430.

4. "Service Sets Top Priority on 150 Offensive Ships," Aviation Week & Space Technology, August 31, 1981, p. 54.

Wing Commander John Feesey is a Royal Air Force exchange officer working as chief of the Fighter Programs Division, Fighter Training Directorate, at Hq Tactical Air Command, Langley AFB, Virginia.

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.

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